Thursday, October 7, 2010

"Ding Dong, Avon Calling!" In the 1960s.

Avon has sold "collector" bottles of its colognes for decades, many of them in the shape of cars. I have eight of these various bottles, three still in the box as is this '55 Thunderbird. All of them still contain the cologne in them. Believe it or not, this Thunderbird "Wild Country" cologne smells really good, and I have to stop myself from wearing it regularly. I don't want to deplete it! Some of the others include an old touring car, complete with a plastic roof windshield and pillars, two '53 Buick Skylarks and an E-Type Jaguar among others. I think it's the Jag whose aroma has gone "off," just smelling like old alcohol, but the others are still pretty fresh. I'm not positive of the production date of this Avon Tbird, but the box includes an address with a Zip Code, so it's not any older than 1963. You can see in the photo, the tail end of the car is plastic, not glass. It comes off revealing the screw top cap of the bottle. The box is 5 1/2 inches long. 

In researching for this post, to find a production date, I found a couple of these for sale at eBay and Etsy, but no production dates. The eBay item was unopened, but the Etsy piece was just the empty bottle. Don't worry folks, neither of them are mine, you know I don't sell anything except my art!

The description of the original 1955 2 seater Thunderbird is remarkably complete, right down to the use of the 292 V8 Mercury engine in that first year personal luxury coupe. Click on it to read for yourself. For some reason, I don't see a company going to the trouble of actually researching this information today for their boxes. Or, it would be wrong, lol.

Another view of the Tbird bottle, showing the plastic rear end covering the screw top.

10 comments:

  1. ah, I LOVED having the Avon lady come by! She would sit at the kitchen table (a yellow 1950's table of course!!) and we would look and look. My dad had a model A or T (I can never remember) looking avon bottle. Hubby wore "wild country" and their "musk" as well...both smelled really good.
    I wore "sweet honesty" in high school..just a light scent.
    ah, the memories! thanks again Casey!
    mare

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  2. CASEY, MY MOM SOLD AVON FOR 17 YEARS. MANY TIMES BEING TOP SALESLADY. SHE WOULD BE SO HAPPY AND WINNING WHATEVER AVON GAVE AWAY AS THE PRIZE. SHE HAD A SHELF IN THE BATHROOM JUST FOR AVON AND WHEN SOMEONE WOULD WANT SOMETHING IN AVON SHE WOULD HAVE IT ON HAND. SHE WOULD BUY UP THE PRODUCTS WHEN IT CAME ON SALE. AVON SOLD ITSELF. SHE NEVER HAD TO PUSH THE PRODUCT. SHE ALSO KEPT A LIST OF PRODUCT THAT HER CUSTOMER BOUGHT AND THEIR PHONE NUMBERS. WHEN THE PRODUCT CAME ON SALE SHE WOULD CALL AND TELL THE LADIES. SOMETIMES WHEN SHE KNEW SOMEONE WAS HAVING A HARD TIME SHE WOULD SELL IT FOR HER COST. WE HAD MANY OF THOSE CARS IN OUR HOUSE. I JUST WONDER WHO'S DRIVING THEM TO DAY. LOL

    GRANNY

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  3. Guess what? I still use Avon cologne! I have 2 types now, Perceive and Hisstory (yes two "esses" in Hisstory. A friend of mine knows a woman that sells it and I'll tag along onto her order when I run out. I also use Old Spice, because you just can't help but love that old scent. Reminds me of getting my haircut when I was little. And I use Patchouli oil because I'm a hippy wannabe! I've never been into the "name" colognes although I've had a few over the years. My mother loved perfumes. my dad always wore cologne, and I do too.

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  4. The cologne bit about trying not to wear it made my morning. I still have a Polo bottle from 1991 which I only used a few times, having allergies makes it difficult to smell like a 17th French aristocrat. lol

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  5. OH WOODY, LOL, THERE'S NOTHING BETTER THAN A MAN'S SWEAT. YUK.

    GRANNY

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  6. CASEY, I LOVE THE SMELL OF OLD SPICE.ONE OF THE BEST OF THE OLD TIMERS.

    GRANNY

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  7. It always used to be so much fun when the Avon lady brought a new catalog! My mom, sister and I would all sit together and go through it page by page, wishing we could buy anything we wanted. Of course, we couldn't. My mom still uses Avon moisturizer. I recently found her a new Avon lady in her area on the web!

    My husband doesn't wear cologne, despite my many attempts to convert him. LOL I love a good cologne or perfume. I wear "Fleurs d' Orlane" from Paris, which I buy on eBay or another online source. I only wear it once in a while now, with so many people complaining to me that they are allergic.

    My dad wore Canoe and mom still has 2 bottles on her bathroom counter, even though he passed away 4.5 years ago. I like to imagine her all alone, opening the bottle and smelling "my dad" and smiling.

    Casey, I'm glad you still wear cologne! I commend all men who wear cologne! But that patchouli oil -- ewww! LOL Causes immediate flashbacks to the '60's!

    Katie

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  8. WOODY, TRY A LITTLE VANNILA BEHIND YOUR EARS. LOL J/K WITH YOU.I HAD TO TALK GRAMPS INTO WEARING SOMETHING A FEW YEARS BACK. NOW WHEN HE GOES SOMEWHERE HE PUTS TO MUCH ON. I HAVE TO REMIND HIM LESS IS BEST.

    GRANNY

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  9. Nothing like stepping into an elevator with ten different scents to greet you. ;) Old Spice..... nice.

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  10. Casey, I LOVE Old spice.
    But Patchouli oil sends me into the stratosphere! I have had the same small bottle for 20 years. A word of caution - I cannot be responsible for my actions if your wearing it! lol

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