Ken Leach, a New York dealer and collector, says vintage perfume bottles can fetch anywhere from a few dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. They can be found at yard sales, flea markets, antiques stores, auctions.
To start collecting, look for what strikes your fancy.Donna Sims of Galena, Ohio, and editor of a newsletter for the collectors' International Perfume Bottle Association, concentrates on Czechoslovakian transparent and opaque glass bottles decorated with glass jewels and female nudes.
"There is such a broad focus," Leach says. "There are so many directions you can collect in. You could just buy for color, shape or a spectacular perfumer. Baccarat made 5,000 different bottles."
The major factor in price is a bottle's rarity. Very few were made until the 1900s. "Before then," Leach says, "people would take their own bottle to the perfumer. Or they'd buy the perfume in a very plain container, and at home they'd decant it into a very decorative bottle."
Some of the most desirable bottles are from the 1920s and '30s, an era of prolific design. Rene Lalique, a French jeweler and silversmith, was in the forefront with fanciful glass bottles depicting nymphs and dragonflies and such.
Before you buy any perfume bottle, examine it for scratches and chips. Is it blown or molded? Is it hand-made or mass-produced? Who made it? Is the design special? Acclaimed makers of glass and crystal include Lalique, Tiffany, Steuben, Corning and Sandwich.
Often, the stopper makes the bottle. A dramatic one can be three times the height of the bottle. In such cases, Leach says, "the bottle works as a pedestal."
The stopper should be original. Unscrupulous dealers can substitute one of lesser quality. Make sure the stopper fits the neck. If it's too big, it will sit above the neck and detract from the appearance. Too small, and it could get stuck in the bottle.
Who is the perfumer? Some status names are Chanel, Houbigant, Schiaparelli, Nina Ricci, Coty, Guerlain, Lanvin, Lubin and Worth.
There are several books on perfume bottle collecting:
"The Art of Perfume: Discovering and Collecting Perfume Bottles," by Christie Mayer Lefkowith (Thames and Hudson, 1995, $60); "Made in Czechoslovakia," by Ruth Forsythe (Antique Publications, 1993, $29.95); "Perfume & Scent Bottle Collecting," by Jean Sloan (Wallace-Homestead Book Company, 1989, hardcover $39.95); "Perfume Bottles," by Carla Brodignon (Chronicle Books, Jan. 1996, $12.95); and "The Book of Perfume," by Elisabeth Barille and Catherine Laroze (Flammarion, 1995, $50).
Perfume Bottle Quarterly: Donna Sims, P.O. Box 187, Galena, OH 43021. Telephone: (614) 965-5693.