Tuvaché, Tuvache, Violet, Parfum Extrait, 15 ml. or 0.5 oz. Flacon, Parfum Extrait, 1940, New York, United States ..

Tuvaché of New York City was established in 1932 by American perfumer Bernadine de Tuvaché, who born Bernadine Angus, and was also known as Bernie Angus, originally a writer of several plays. Angels Island, Brown Sugar and Pie in the Sky made it to Broadway. She changed her name to Bernadine de Tuvaché and preferred to be known as Madame de Tuvaché, which is a character from Gustav Flaubert's novel, Madame Bovary. Bernadine often used the name as a pen name and because of this, many people mistakenly thought she was of French origin. Though this worked in her favor as she didn't correct them, but instead, capitalized on the American women's preference for "French made" perfumes.

Ever since Bernadine de Tuvaché discovered that "perfume was the reason Cleopatra had such luck with Antony" she was interested in scents. It has been reported that her publicity girl found her experimenting with the mixing of perfume oils she picked up in the far places around the world such as Morocco and Tangiers.

Country Life, 1941, wrote "AN IDEA YOU CAN SMELL .. a novel thought but true. More romance is what American perfumes need, said Bernadine Angus. While on a trip through Spain and North Africa, a whiff of a strange fragrance set her off. Result, de Tuvache perfumes .. exciting, exotic - rare. Blending under her skilled direction is done in limited quantities to ensure perfection. At Bergdorf Goodman, Fifth Avenue. Have a sniff, and they'll have your money!"

The famous glass maker Verreries Brosse manufactured her perfume bottles, which often had interesting suede labels with pinked edges. Don Schreckengost, a ceramic artist designed some of her packaging from 1942-1945, in particular, the African head sculpture for the perfume Zezan.

She fiercely resented the fact that perfumes were being marketed with a "sexy" angle. "Do not lilacs in the rain stir emotions that are often prayerful and will not a bouquet of violets remind you of the tender kindness of your mother when you were very ill so long ago?"

Tuvaché's best known perfume was the 1932 classic Jungle Gardenia, though some of her rarer ones include the exotic Algiers and Zezan perfumes.

Tuvaché was sold in the late 1960's, after the death of Bernadine and her husband, and the company merged into Germaine Monteil. It was then sold to Yardley of London in the 1970s, who had also acquired Germaine Monteil. By 1989 it was sold to the Jovan division of Coty who discontinued Jungle Gardenia and used the bottles for a different fragrance under the Jovan name.

In response to the many letters from loyal fans of Jungle Gardenia, Coty brought back the scent with the same name in the 1990s. Much to the demise of those loyal fans, this turned out to be a disappointing reformulated version. The easiest way to differentiate the original version from Coty's is that Coty had removed the Tuvaché name from the Jungle Gardenia brand and replaced it with their own. Because the new version was not well liked, it sold poorly and was quickly discontinued.

Tuvaché's Violet perfume is absolutely one of the loveliest violet perfumes on the market today. Violet perfumes all around are very difficult to acquire these days. This is a soliflore, made with Violet Leaves, Violet Flowers, and possibly some Orris to give it that lasting beautiful violet softness.

"This is a soft, yet strong, concentrated “skin perfume,” combining the usual soliflore elements of violet flower, violet leaf and orris. It is not powdery, nor is it sharp, as can sometimes occur with an abundance of pure violet oil. This falls somewhere in the middle. It is quite lovely and since it is so concentrated, tiny dabs will provide many hours of wafting. Violet is a scent best used in cold, winter months. There is something about its comfortable warmth that reacts well with a chilly day. An excellent violet, right up there with Berdoues, Shimy, and Ducale. Since this is so concentrated, it becomes economical in that its strength requires minimum application for a fully rounded effect." Basenotes Review. Jack Twist

Offered here is a beautiful half ounce bottle of this gorgeous perfume. Absolutely pristine .. and very very rare now. This is very strong perfume, and it will last a long time! The bottle has never been previously opened, and bears a inner metallic seal. Very rare to find now .. Breathtaking!

"The sweetness of the violet’s deep blue eyes, Kissed by the breath of heaven, Seems color’d by its skies." Byron