Featured Finds Thread

It may have been an enhances on a Hong Kong or German necklace they were known for using plastic beads.

 

I am glad you called that out, as I personally thought they were pretty elaborate for plastic beads!

 

Not in that era. The plastic ones were lighter weight, and didn't drag on your neck like the glass ones. The late 60s necklaces were longer and weighed more. They made the plastic ones to look fancy - maybe to wear with the paper dresses that were around at the time?

 

I bought this on eBay back in September, 1924.

I wanted to show it to some of the more seasoned collectors at the IPBA to get their take on it as I was running into dead ends with my research. I didn't have an opportunity to do this until this past spring. Unfortunately, I learned nothing new.

I decided to post some of my more unusual DeVilbiss finds I have collected along the way on my Facebook page. I thought I would post them here also, as some folks might also be interested.

I presented this at the 2026 IPBA Chicago convention for the "Treasures Found" presentation.

This one stumped everyone. No one had ever seen anything like it. One of the members commented about the use of the word "atomizers" rather than "perfumizers" given the suspected age of the tray, which I think to be c.1908. This is what DeVilbiss called their atomizers when they first started selling bottles equipped with their hardware.

The tray itself was made by American Art Works which was located in Coshocton, Ohio. They also made the famous Coca-Cola trays. There is a mark in the lower right hand corner of the letters "AAW" inside a shield & the number "114". I assume that that number is the stock number for the company.

This tray is large & measures 13 1/4" by 10 1/2" & is 1" to the side edge.

It is possible that it could have been used at a drug store's perfume counter to place the commercial perfumes &/or the very early pressed glass DeVilbiss atomizers that could be used to hold the various perfumes.

The perfume being advertised is San Toy which was produced by Wrisely around c.1908.

Some think that the perfume was named after a c.1899 Chinese musical comedy production named San Toy, which means "The Emperor's Own" which played on Broadway in the early 1900s.

DeVilbiss did partner with many companies to produce hardware for their bottles over the years. However, I could not find a reference to them partnering with Wrisley.

 

This is another one of my unusual DeVilbiss finds I have collected along the way.

This one was also presented at the 2026 IPBA Chicago convention for the "Treasures Found" presentation.

The experts decided this was likely a R-8 "Kingfisher" perfumizer bottle that may have gotten damaged, so a worker decided to smooth down the top edge to turn it into a vase.

They said it may have been presented to management for possible inclusion into the line, but there is no indication it was ever put into production.

It has extensive markings on the bottom as I have shown in the photos. In case you can't make some of it out - "Sample" "g10" gold cursive "DeVilbiss" mark, "27", & an "F".

It measures 7 3/8" to the top.

I do have the powder jar with the same design, but am still searching for the atomizer bottle.

 

A charming tray and an nice bit of perfume history. Pretty and interesting, thank you for showing us.

 

Beautiful. Would be interesting to see an original bottle, but this works perfectly as a bud vase.

 

very nice indeed.

 

I saw the tray on FB. It has to be a rare survivor. Most commercial bits got tossed, or someone took the one from their store and repurposed it.

 

All I can offer is the image from a book until I get one of my own. I'll try to remember to take one tomorrow in the daylight.

 

I am hoping the way the bots scour this site that someday someone will pop in with some information on the tray.

 

That's fascinating. Where does the "San Toy" appear on the tray?

Debora

 

Interestingly (and unusually), the DeVillbis company changed their logo frequently. The logo on your tray looks Art Deco. I think it's going to be a lot newer. I can't find anything similar used by the company until the 1940s.

 

under her right foot..

 

It is shown right below the figure. It is written in very small black letters which makes it very hard to see the words.

You may be right which would explain the use of the word atomizer rather than perfumizer. However, if it is a later date I would think they would have used a more iconic fragrance such as Evening in Paris by Bourjois which they produced hardware for c.1936.



This tray has to be an advertisement for DeVilbiss or the prominence of the lettering would be reversed IMO.

DeVilbiss went through numerous different "identities" so to speak. It started in 1888 when Dr. DeVilbiss started a company to produce the medical atomizers that could be used to apply substances to the nose & throat. He brought his son on board as a partner in the company. This company was dissolved in 1905 & the DeVilbiss Company was formed with Dr. DeVilbiss as president & His son Thomas was vice president & general manager.

It was the son that came up with the idea of a sprayer for perfume around the same time. Because he dealt with drug stores for the original medical apparatus he would hear complaints regarding the European hardware that was being used at the time.

He pitched the idea to his father, but ole dad was not impressed. Thomas forged ahead & started fitting the atomizer hardware to the tops of salt shakers. By 1908 the DeVilbiss Perfumizer was a business of its own. It moved from Toledo, Ohio to Somerset, Pennsylvania in 1951 & closed down in 1968.

The paint sprayer division started in 1910 & was an important part of their contribution to WWI & WWII. It is their main focus to this day.

 

Very interesting posts and it didn't dawn on me until this post that DeVilbiss paint sprayers is the same company, LOL! I knew I had heard DeVilbiss in connection with something else, but couldn't remember what. The perfume bottles are exquisite.

 

Don't feel bad. I was born & raised in Toledo, Ohio. I moved away when I was 26. I always knew there was a company called DeVilbiss over in the west side somewhere, but never knew what they made or did. There was even a high school named after the son, Thomas DeVilbiss. However, I had no idea they made perfume bottles till I bought my first reference book & there was a chapter devoted to their bottles. Part of my defense, besides being a totally clueless kid, is that they moved the perfume part 2 years before I was born & it closed down when I was 13.

 

Here are 2 photos from my book on DeVilbiss perfume bottles.

This one shows the bottle, powder jar & vanity tray that would have been included along with a pin dish & an additional powder jar in a boxed set that cost $65.00 in 1927. Just an FYI that would be $1251.36 today & that would be before accounting for the higher price of gold. There would be approximately a half-ounce of 24K gold in the set.



Here's a little closer view of just the bottle. The clear portion of the bottle is iridized.

 

Elegant and beautiful, thank you for posting them.

 

Beatles Magical Mystery Tour 1967 album with jacket and part of original book for $1.

A record from 1970 called "Author's Roundtable" with Kurt Vonnegut on it for $1.