Lenthéric, Lentheric, à Bientôt, 'See You Soon', 120 ml. or 4 oz. Flacon, Eau de Parfum, Orrefors Glassworks, 1935, Paris, France ..

Lenthéric is an very old and venerated company which was established in 1795 as a millinery. In the 19th century, fashion accessories were added to the store. From 1873, perfumes were being informally blended in the store for sale. Guillaume Louis Lenthéric, a hairdresser, established the perfume-cosmetics company 'La Parfumerie des Orchidees' in 1885.

Guillaume Lenthéric exclusively distilled and dispensed the rarest perfumes in France for the loveliest ladies of the courts and aristocracy in Europe. He was one of the first to venture into foreign fields and eventually his firm passed into English hands. A large building at 245 rue du Faubourg-Saint Honore in Paris was acquired in 1885 and turned into a salon for millinery, perfumes, cosmetics and important beauty-hairdressing. Lenthéric was made a Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur in gratitude for his contributions to one of France's greatest industries.

By 1900, branches were opened in Deauville, Monte Carlo, Nice, Biarritz, Ostend, Baden-Baden, and London. In 1910, the company was acquired by Velsch & Holtz. Guillaume Lenthéric died in 1912.

Lenthéric began marketing perfumes in the United States in the 1920s, opening a very lavish salon at the Savoy Plaza in New York. Their distributor was John J. Murphy. The firm incorporated in 1924. Lenthéric became a subsidiary of Squibb, and was 90% controlled by the parent company in January 1942.

In 1947, Lenthéric, Inc., experienced a decline in earnings due to higher wages, advertising expenses, and vast returns of merchandise from retail stores, which trimmed inventories. In 1951 the company hoped to increase sales by introducing a new line of makeup called Sheer Beauty.

Lenthéric was later acquired by Squibb in 1956. Squibb had manufacturing plants in Brooklyn, New York and New Brunswick, New Jersey in July 1952. The Squibb main building was at Fifth Avenue and 58th Street in New York City.

In 1990, Old Bond Street, which was owned by Wasserstein Perella & Co., purchased Lenthéric and Yardley . In 1998, Old Bond Street collapsed and Lenthéric was sold to Shaneel Enterprises Ltd. Such was the fate of this marvelous old company, but due to the high quality of the products, they were able to maintain their sales and stay in business through the different ownerships.

à Bientôt by Lentheric: launched in 1938. The name means "See you again soon" in French. In 1938, it was said to be "translated into the best American slang, "I'll be seeing you", reflects characteristics truly American - vigor, vitality, and personality and may be worn most suitably from early afternoon through the evening."

When this perfume was being introduced at the perfume counter at the Abraham & Straus department store in New York City, women could pick up a complimentary vial of the perfume, and then customers were being advised to order the 'A Bientot Cocktail', specially created for the perfume, the next time they visited the St. George Hotel's Bermuda Room, as well as to see how the colors of the famous dining room was worked out to harmonize with the packaging for 'à Bientôt'.

"Dry and heady as champagne - it's your cocktail aura."

à Bientôt was a fragrance line that included perfume, Bouquet Lentheric, face powder, soap, bath oil, talcum powder, bath salts, dusting powder and sachet bags for clothes. It was classified as a dry, heady, floral tobacco fragrance for women. It begins with a strong, cool, lemony eau de cologne top note and dries down to a rich animalic dry, tobacco leaf base.

It was described in a vintage 1938 newspaper article as "the dry mellow aroma of sun ripened tobacco leaves, expressing camaraderie, and is to be worn with bright bravado." "Lentheric's "A Bientot" .. a phrase that breezily bids a temporary goodbye has been translated into fragrance by Lentheric." A Bientot was also suggested to be used as a "pick me up after an arduous day, a vitalizing after bath luxury, a scent of lingerie or handkerchiefs."

Top notes are Aldehydes, Lemon, Bergamot, Rosemary, Lavender, and Neroli
Middle notes are Flowers, and Spices
Base notes are Vetiver, Vanilla, Tobacco Leaf, Sandalwood, Amber, and Leather

In 1935, customers could have their Bouquet Lentheric scents bottled in luxurious crystal bottles made by the Swedish glass company Orrefors. These delicate amphora shaped decanters were wheel cut with a delicate floral pattern and fitted with a teardrop shaped ground glass stopper. This is one of the luxurious Orrefors crystal hand cut bottles offered here in the 4 oz. size. Orrefors glassworks .. also known as just Orrefors .. is a glassworks in the Swedish village Orrefors in Småland. Orrefors manufactures high-quality crystal glassware and art glass. The range consists of crystal stemware, barware, vases, perfume bottles, and sculptures and lighting products in crystal.

A vintage newspaper advertisement from 1938 described these as "a mid-Victorian cut crystal minaret bottle", which would be appropriate as the Victorian era was enjoying a Revival during this time. The bottle was available in three sizes: 4 oz, 8 oz and 16 oz.

Offered here is a lovely old bottle of this gorgeous fragrance. It has been previously opened and used. I feel that the bottle may be made by an important crystallerie, such as Orefors, because of the lovely cut crystal design ..

Was $275 .. No on Sale at $100