Guerlain, Shalimar, 80 ml. or 2.81 oz. Flacon, Parfum Extrait, Flacon Chauvre Souris, Hole in Stopper, 1923, 1950, Paris, France ..

The House of Guerlain is one of the oldest perfume houses in the world. It was founded in 1828 when Pierre-Francois Pascal Guerlain opened up his first perfume store on 42, Rue de Rivoli in Paris.

Pierre-Francois composed and manufactured custom perfumes with the help of his two sons, Aime & Gabriel. His unique approach was to personalize perfume for a specific person, place or event. Honore de Balzac commisioned his own eau de toilette during the writing of Cesar Birotteau, and the periodical La Sylphide, le Journal des Elegances, scented each issue with a different fragrance by Guerlain.

Guerlain catered to the high society of Paris, and obtained a very loyal following. The perfume house was so successful that Guerlain decided to open a flagship store at 15, Rue de la Paix in Paris in 1840. The house was at its peak in 1853 with it's fragrance Eau de Cologne Imperiale. This perfume gained Guerlain the prestigious title of His Majesty's Official Perfumer of France. This in turn led him to create perfumes for other royals such as Queen Victoria of England, the Empress Sissi of Austria, the Queen of Belgium and Queen Isabella of Spain as well as other crowned heads of royalty.

Pierre-Francois passed away in 1854 and his sons inherited the perfume house. Aime became the master perfumer, a tradition that would be upheld for the next master perfumer in lineage. Gabriel managed and further expanded the house.

Shalimar was created by Jacques Guerlain in 1925, as an attribute to the legendary love story between Emperor Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Before he became emperor his hame was Prince Khurram. According to the legend, twenty year old Prince Khurram met a young girl named Arjumand Banu at the bazaar where her family worked. Mesmerized by her beauty, after becoming emperor, he made her his wife as Mumtaz Mahal, meaning the 'Jewel of the Palace". After the wedding, the prince and Mumtaz were inseparable, both in war and in peace.

Mumtaz had given thirteen children to Shah Jahan, and died during the birth of the 14th child at the age of 39. Her death devastated Shah Jahan, and he he had the Taj Mahal built in memory of this wife and their undying love. Shalimar is named after the Gardens of Shalimar, which was Mumtaz's favorite garden.

Shalimar is one of the best selling perfumes ever, and its magic is undeniable. The perfume is composed of citrus notes, lemon and bergamot, jasmine, may rose, opoponax, Tonka bean vanilla, iris, Peru balsam and gray amber. Coolness of the citrus notes leads to a floral heart ending with a warm and luxurious trail. The perfume composition remains the same to this day.

The "Bat" or "Urn" Flacon was Designed by Raymond Guerlain in 1925, the bottle's curved shape reflects the basins of the famous Shalimar gardens in India. It won first prize at the Paris International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in 1925.

Top notes are Citruses, Mandarin, Cedar, Lemon, and Bergamot
Heart notes are Rose, Vetiver, Jasmine, Patchouli, and Iris
Base notes are Tonka Bean, Incense, Vanilla, Opoponax, Ambergris, Sandalwood, Amber, and Leather

This 80 ml Guerlain Shalimar bottle with the pierced blue stopper is an iconic piece of vintage perfumery history, likely dating from the mid-20th century. The hole in the sapphire-blue fan stopper is a fascinating manufacturing artifact from an era when early crystal makers manually pierced the glass stopper to inject mercury or assist in the cooling and moulding process before newer, secret techniques made it obsolete.

The pierced hole appeared in early production runs which required a small hole through the centre of the blue fan design for technical moulding reasons, making these older pierced variations highly prized by vintage collectors. The "Cordon" Design is amongst the earliest Guerlain designs, when glassmakers like Cristal Nancy drilled a microscopic hole right through the base of the sapphire fan stopper. The decorative cord was threaded straight through the glass rather than just wrapped around the outer neck

That exact feature .. where the silk or metallic cord passes directly through a drilled hole in the centre of the blue glass fan .. is the ultimate signature of the very earliest, original production runs of Shalimar. This complex technique was abandoned shortly before World War II because it caused too many stoppers to crack during manufacturing. Later vintage iterations wrapped the cord exclusively around the exterior neck of the bottle.

Offered here is a magnificent flacon of this gorgeous old perfume. I believe that this bottle was issued in the early 1950's based on the string going through the drilled hole and then around the neck and the condition of the presentation box, which is falling apart and very shabby .. It is unsurpassable as a fragrance and an exquisite presentation .. Some evaporation over the years ..

PLEASE NOTE that there is a small flat chip on the backside of the blue fan stopper. It is a shallow chip, but it is noticeable .. It can be seen in the photos.