A set of four Faberge colognes that belonged to my grandmother, always on her bureau, like my mom's Chanel I wrote about below. I scanned these bottles, lying them on their sides, which accounts for the brown "stains" on the glass bottles on the left, the small amount of liquid left in them settling on the sides when I placed them on the scanner. The other two are pretty much full, not bad for small bottles which have been open since, I'm guessing, the early 1960s, and they still smell pretty good, too!
My grandmother was diagnosed with cancer in 1963, and didn't get out much after that, dying in 1969 when I was twelve. I can remember her wearing these, so I think they must have been relatively new in the sixties. Even though it has been more than forty years, whenever I smell one of these, I can imagine sitting next to her in her car, or in a restaurant—she loved to take me to lunch, all dressed up, see below, or in her home, side-by-side as she taught me to knit and perl. After she died, I guess Hoohoo couldn't throw them out, and after Hoohoo died, I kept everything including these, lol.
From left, the names of the perfumes are, Aphrodesia, with a reddish top under clear glass, Woodhue, with a woodgrained top, Act IV, with a black top with stars on it, and Tigress, with a furry faux tigerskin top.
All ready to go to lunch with my grandmother, or Nanny, as I always called her. The Ratpack was alive and well in 1962! I might have looked like a little Peter Lawford, but I thought I was Sammy Davis, Jr. Every time he was on TV I'd jump up and try to sing and dance just like him, lol. I think it was because he was short! Doncha just love the pose? I was a natural!
Oh my goodness! That picture of you is the cutest thing EVER! We didn't have a "dress up" place to eat where I grew up. We rarely went out to eat (come to think of it, I really don't remember eating out except for the bakery across the street on main street where my parents owned a store!)
ReplyDeleteThe perfumes are so interesting too. Again, nothing we had access to (my dad wouldn't have thought of buying it and my mom would have been WAAAAYYY too frugal to purchase it herself although -not as fancy- she would wear LaMont by coty :) (she smelled heavenly!!)
Thanks for the look into a different lifestyle than what I was used to...I love "peeking" at life's differences. I'm such a little snooper and I love hearing different family stories and even though there are huge differences it brings up my own memories..it's the artist in you that brings this out I'm sure of it...you are blessed with a wonderful talent!
mare
If there was a song(and video) that followed your website themes, I think this would match it. It just sounds so 1940's Churchill era to me with a tease of different emotions. Maybe I'm over simplifying or marginalizing, but anyway just enjoy it:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNt7XvnpQ5o&feature=related
thanks, Mare! Having grown up in the Depression, my mother made sure we never wasted anything, but looking back, I guess we were pretty comfortable. Now that I'm at the bottom of the barrel, I can appreciate what we had a lot more than I did growing up. I think that's why I'm so fascinated with the past. Just wait for the week to come. I have SO many things to scan and write about now that I don't have any real work to do for a while.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link Woody. I'm going to switch computers and listen to it now.
ReplyDeleteWoody: I'll take that as a theme song! thanks. I've never heard that Pet Shop Boys song before. Parts of it remind me of Brian Eno's Ambient Music, Music for Airports.
ReplyDeleteI ALWAYS WORE TIGRESS. I HAVEN'T THOUGHT OF THIS PERFUME UNTIL I LOOKED AT YOUR PICTURE OF THE BOTTLES. I KNEW RIGHT AWAY WHAT THAT BOTTLE CONTAINED.
ReplyDeleteGRANNY
Thank you for sharing those memories. The rat pack picture is SO CUTE! You were a very fortunate little boy to have family that enjoyed doing things with you, particularly the out-of-the ordinary things like taking a sophisticated little boy to lunch!
ReplyDeleteI know that we were comfortable when I was a child, in that we always had good food on the table and a nice roof over our heads and clothes to wear and toys and even a vacation now and then (not every year, certainly). I think it was easier to be middle class, even for one-income blue collar families (my dad was a UPS man). We owned a house and my brother and I went to college. Now, living in New York City with a household income that puts us in rarified company, Barry and I are getting by but there's not a lot left over at the end of the month. How do families do it?
Thank you again and again for sharing your warm and loving memories with us.
Paul, NYC
PAUL, YOU JUST DO. CASEY HAS BEEN A BLESSING TO ALL OF US. WE HAVE ALOT IN COMMON.I LIKE NICE THINGS BUT YOU LEARN AS THE YEARS PAST SOMETIMES SIMPLE IS BEST. IF I COULD GET ON A HORSE TODAY, I'D RATHER RIDE THROUGH A MEADOW BY MYSELF THEN BEING IN THE MIDDLE OF A CROWD IN TIME SQUARE. QUIET DOES SOMETHING TO YOUR SOUL. THE WAY TO MAKE YOUR MONEY LAST WOULD BE TO BUY ONLY WHAT YOU NEED, NOT WHAT YOU WANT. THEN YOU'LL BE SURPRISE HOW MUCH YOU HAVE LEFT OVER AT THE END OF THE MONTH. GRAMPS ALWAY MADE SURE TO HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO COVER 6 MONTHS IN CASE HE GOT SICK OR FIRED. SO IN THE EARLY YEARS WE WENT WITHOUT. ONLY WHAT WE NEEDED.
ReplyDeleteYOU'LL BE FINE. I SAY AS LONG AS YOU HAVE EACH OTHER WHAT MORE DO WE NEED. SS GOES JUST SO FAR. OBAMA DIDN'T GIVE US A RAISE THIS YEAR BUT PRICES WENT UP ANYWAYS. I'M NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT BUT WE'RE GETTING BY.
GRANNY
Such a dapper little guy you were.
ReplyDeleteLove the hat, it makes the whole outfit.
Is it just me or does the perfume "Aphrodesia" have just about the most alluring name ever created for a perfume? Do they still make one with this name? If not, they should. Or an incense.