The first listing for The Crown Perfumery Company was at 40, The Strand. It was located in the Theatre District of London, at the opposite end of the street from The Gaiety Theatre. The showroom was on the ground floor and the perfumes were manufactured on the upper floors.
High society’s phenomenal acceptance created the need for a larger, more impressive location. Opened in early 1878, 177 New Bond Street was a perfectly elegant address for their titled patrons to enter. Crown remained at this location for over twenty years. An entertaining story in The Pharmaceutical Era, October 1, 1893, tells Americans wanting to see “a real live lord” to head to The Crown Perfumery store on New Bond Street, where they will see “(a)ll the nobility and a plentiful sprinkling of royalty” entering the store. The article then provides an extensive list with names of Dukes and Duchesses, Earls and Ladies, Counts and Countesses, Vi-Countesses, Baronesses, Marchionesses and Lords. The article is reprinted in the History chapter.
Stepping through the front door at 177, New Bond Street must have been exhilarating, for here was a store devoted to extravagant feminine accessories. On display were the finest perfumes in elaborate cut crystal bottles packaged in elegant cases. A full range of complimentary toiletry products to the perfumes were available. Ostrich feather fans for the most lavish gala and wedding fans for that most memorable of days were artfully arranged in cases. There were velvet lined calling-card trays with hand painted enamel landscapes. Inkstands, hand mirrors, wall mirrors, photo frames, trinket trays, fancy boxes, table screens and table ornaments all encouraged clients to have a leisurely stroll through a store filled with the most wonderful and luxurious feminine delights from the artistic capitals of the world. Crown’s clients browsed, bought and returned to buy more.
Linen and lace handkerchiefs were both a necessity and an accessory. Scenting the handkerchief with one’s favorite perfume was a luxury.
As befitting a world class perfumery, Crown scented everyday items including calendars and Christmas cards. They also carried scented pencils. These scented pencils were not our famous No.2 lead pencils encased in yellow, but a solid perfume in the shape of a pencil that was rubbed across fabric, lace, gloves, stationery or any such object. Another scented novelty was the perfuming of London’s Gaiety Theatre prior to the evening performance. Patrons would luxuriate in the latest Crown scent as they waited the raising of the curtain.
Scented Christmas cards from The Crown Perfumery Company
As the nineteenth century was dwindling to a close and a new millennium was about to burst forth, William Sparks Thomson handed the reigns of The Crown Perfumery Company to his daughter Annie and his youngest son. Charles was the offspring most actively involved with the company’s management. In 1899, a decision was reached to close the flagship store at 177, New Bond Street and concentrate on their global wholesale perfumery business.
Showrooms were opened at their main manufactory sites, displaying their distinctive and large product lines. Retail buyers from various department stores and chemist shops came to explore the multitude of options for combining perfumes and toiletry items into boxed sets specific to their needs. Crown salesmen came from all corners of the world to replenish supplies and deliver their overflowing order books after long sales trips.
In the Spring and Summer of 1907, the elegant London pharmacy, Morny Frères, at 201 Regent Street, exhibited an extensive arrangement of The Crown Perfumery Company products, with their newest creation, Fleur d’Azur, prominently displayed .
In New York, the Crown showrooms were located with Thomson, Langdon and Co. until 1889 when the firm became Langdon, Batcheller & Co. A separate showroom was then opened. One advertisement in 1897 asked patrons to take a private elevator to the showroom at 186 5th Avenue. In 1898, there was a “mammoth” and “regal” crown painted on the outside brick wall in red, white and gold, directing the way for all to find the new home of The Crown Perfumery Company at 29-33 19th Street.
When George C. Batcheller held the American Rights to The Crown Perfumery Company (1900-1907), he opened a store on the Atlantic City Boardwalk for the summer of 1903. The store offered an extensive line of Crown’s imported perfumes.
Paris, Vienna and Berlin all had sumptuous stores. Crown products held prominent places in department stores, drug stores and other retail outlets. An 1891 advertisement announced that a famous and very important Parisian house on the Boulevard des Capucines created a Department of Perfumery exclusively stocked with Crown products. In 1906, an illustrated price catalogue was printed in Russian!
The Crown Perfumery Company was well represented in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Cape Colony, Ceylon, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, India, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, Natal, New Zealand, Orange River Colony (Africa), Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Rhodesia, Russia, Spain, South Africa, Straits Settlements (Malacca, Penang, Singapore), the United States and Uruguay.
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