Richard Hudnut, White Heliotrope, 30 ml. or 1 oz. Flacon, Parfum Extract, 1895, 1925, New York, NY ..

Richard Alexander Hudnut lived from June 2, 1855- October 30, 1928, and was an American businessman recognized as the first American to achieve international success in cosmetics manufacturing. The company once maintained separate US and European headquarters on Fifth Avenue in New York City and on the Rue de la Paix in Paris, respectively.

Although his fortune had been built around cosmetics and beauty products, he preferred to be known as a "perfumer”. Hudnut's father Alexander was a pharmacist with a store at Broadway and Ann Street in New York City. The name Hudnut derives from Hodnet, from Shropshire in England. After graduating from Princeton University, Richard Hudnut toured France and returned with the idea of introducing French-style perfumes and cosmetics to American women. In 1880 he registered his name as a trademark in both France and the United States.

Early Richard Hudnut fragrances included Queen Anne Cologne in 1880, Violet Sec in 1896, Aimée, DuBarry, Vanity, and Three Flowers, all of which were produced in the early 1900’s. Product lines include Violet Sec Toilet Water, DuBarry Beauty Products, Yankee Clover products, Three Flowers products, and a highly successful line of hair care products.

White Heliotrope was originally launched in 1885, but I think this bottle was likely to have been produced in the 1910's. Heliotropin was discovered in 1869 by Fittig and Mielk who synthesised it and thus made the ‘sweet cherry pie' note of the Héliotrope flower, for which it is named, available to perfumers for the first time .. it was already in use in fragrances by the early 1880s.

Heliotropine occurs naturally in a range of botanicals including dill, violet flowers, black pepper and others and is used for vanilla or almond accords to bring a balsamic character and also has powdery, floral aspects. Despite having acquired the name heliotropine for its similar scent to that of the Héliotrope flower this chemical does not itself appear in the flower scent and so cannot be extracted from those flowers. The perfume has a sparkling quality, amazing for its age, and has notes of Lemon, Bergamot, Lilac, and Almond.

Héliotrope is a sweet-scented plant which is called Héliotrope because it follows the course of the sun. After opening it gradually turns from the east to the west and during the night turns again to the east to meet the rising sun. The Ancients recognized this characteristic of the plant and applied it to mythology.

Top notes are Neroli, Orange Blossom, Lemon, Bergamot, and Lily of the Valley
Heart notes are Jasmine, Ylang Ylang, Heliotrope, Rose, Lilac, and Honeysuckle
Base notes are Sandalwood, Vanilla, and Ambergris

Offered here is a rare bottle of this enchanting fragrance presented in a period apothecary style flacon, almost full and with its original leather presentation box. Collectors.

I was going to open this flacon and offer it in decanted samples, but it is so pristine that I couldn't do it, and decided to sell it whole .. A treasure ..