In this guide I will introduce you to the world of the silver overlay/deposit perfume bottles and the different types available.
Most people use the terms interchangeably, The concept of overlaying a product with a cage work of silver was just starting to become popular in the late 1880s. The thick "silver overlay" we refer to today was generally called "silver deposit" during this period in old newspaper ads. This method of decoration was at first limited to cane and parasol handles.
Oscar Pierre Erard of Birmingham, England developed an effective method of electroplating silver on glass and porcelain in 1889. Other manufacturers also overlaid ivory, tortoiseshell, horn and celluloid with the silver as well, so you may come across vanity accessories with this decoration. A few years later in 1893, John H. Scharling, an American patented an improved method. By 1895, Americans, the Czechs, Italians, French, English and Austrians were producing exciting glassware with sterling deposit and overlay.
Victorian Silver Overlay & Glass Bottles:
The first type I want to discuss is the late Victorian era bottles. These delicate perfume bottles with permanent solid sterling silver overlay in sinuous Art Nouveau or lacy roccoco designs on glass date from the late Victorian period about 1885, through the Edwardian period and into the 1920s. These bottles were crafted by using a pierced (cut out) cage work of solid sterling silver bands which was then carefully fitted by hand over the glass and fused into place. The silver is generally also fitted over the neck and mouth of the bottle. Today we classify the large examples as used for the eau de colognes or toilet waters, and their much smaller counterparts to the more precious parfum. In old advertisements, we see that a 3.5" tall bottle was for cologne. The most popular sizes were 2 oz, 4 oz and 6 oz.
Almost all are American in origin although a scarce few are English. The glass bottles mainly come in clear, but you can also find them in cobalt, cranberry/ruby or green glass. The colored bottles always command higher prices than the clear examples which are more plentiful. You may also find the silver overlay perfume atomizers as well, but these are scarce. Some bottles are entirely covered in the silver overlay, not a trace of the glass showing through.
The shapes were just as varied as the silver mountings that are bound upon them. You can find pear shapes, round, squat, long necked and tall, cylindrical, inkwell shaped, sloping shoulders, tapered bases, atomizers, and my favorite, the lobed melon shapes from Steuben.
Some interesting bottles were intended to be souvenirs for visitors to a landmark, exposition or city. One such bottle in the newspaper ad below mentions the silver deposit spells out the name of the city, in this case Kansas City.
Atomizers:
One particular type of interest is the atomizer. These gorgeous spray bottles could be had in a variety of shapes, sizes and designs. Some even have sterling silver atomizer hardware, look for markings. A collection of just the atomizers themselves would be quite impressive as they seem to be just a bit harder to find.
Today, you will find that most of the rubber bulbs have been deteriorated or missing completely, this is due to the natural decomposition process of the rubber. First it gets hard, then starts to crack, then crumble and finally break off into bits. If the bulb is old and unsightly, I won't fault you for removing it. You may be able to find replacement bulbs online, but they may not always fit. Take a good look at your atomizer, see where the bulb would screw onto the hardware, it has a cup-like appearance, when your atomizer looks like this, you will only need the bulb and not a cord. Remember, the gooseneck part is where the perfume will spray from, you do not attach the bulb to this (I say this because I have actually seen people do this because they were confused and honestly had no idea and wondered why they couldn't get it to spray).
Also, your atomizer won't spray if the siphon inside the bottle is missing. The thin siphon tube is usually made of metal, in some cases it may be glass, but on the American made pieces, it is usually metal. It is rather soft and can break off. It is attached to the atomizer head that screws into the collar on the bottle. It is fragile and I do not know of anyone who can replace this, so be careful when cleaning.
When I clean sterling silver hardware, I first stick a toothpick into the hole in the sprayer where the perfume comes out. This way, no polishing compound can get stuck inside and clog up the sprayer. If you attempt to clean the sterling silver hardware, be sure to get all of the polishing compound off. I sometimes use cotton swabs to clean intricate parts. You can also unscrew the bulb if your bottle has a newer one, so you don't get polishing cream on the bulb. If it is an old bulb, you may wish to leave it in place, just carefully polish around it. Don't force it off. You don't want to risk damaging it further.
In the late 19th century photo below, you can see two silver overlay perfume bottles sitting atop the dressing table.
Two American companies, Gorham & Alvin, dominated the scene and created some of the most exquisite examples available using thick overlays of sterling silver. They both used glass blanks from the Steuben glassworks. Another honorable mention is the La Pierre company, I have seen some of their bottles, though not as highly detailed as Gorham or Alvin, but nonetheless, beautiful bottles. I own a lovely Bailey Banks & Biddle one that I purchased in Pennsylvania. Look closely for any tiny markings on the silver, usually you will find the hallmarks for the manufacturer and also the silver content, most likely .925, "Sterling Deposit", or .999 fine sterling. Stoppers and the base of the bottle should have hand inscribed numbers that match, this shows that the stopper and bottle were ground to fit each other perfectly at the factory.
Marks at a glance (do not confuse these with any monograms on the front of bottle):
- A = Alvin
- G = Gorham Manufacturing Co
- FLP = Frank La Pierre
- BBB = Bailey, Banks & Biddle
Some bottles were covered with the sterling silver overlay by the Eamco Company (Electrolytic Art Metal Company) of New Jersey . In business from 1905 to 1915. EAMCO, a specialized silver overlay firm, had been based in Trenton, NJ and according to public records, was reorganized in 1913 as a manufacturer of silver deposit ware. EAMCO was displayed on the list of high end silver decorators for American Belleek as well as French Limoges. The short list of qualified companies included Gorham Mfg.Co, RI; EAMCO (Electrolytic Art Metal Co), Trenton, NJ; and L.C. Tiffany.
These higher end bottles usually have an area where a monogram could be engraved, often you will find bottles with owners name or initials in fancy flourishing script. Rather than have a jeweler remove the engravings, I opt to keep them intact as I find this adds a lot of charm to the antique bottles. The most expensive and much, much harder to find are the gorgeous iridescent art glass bottles by Loetz.
You may even come across these antique glass bottles that have their entire surface covered with a thick silver overlay. The gleaming silver is then engraved with sinewy decoration or stylized floral motifs. The matching stoppers are also completely encased in the silver and their engravings match the decor on the bottles. I have only seen a few examples of these bottles over the years and I consider them quite scarce. One thing to remember is that solid silver will be marked sterling or .999 Fine. Silver plated bottles are marked with "quadruple plate" or some other non-precious marking.
Some American perfume companies sold the perfume inside the silver overlay bottles, one such company was Tappan out of Corning, New York. The 1894 newspaper ad below mentions this:
I have seen countless bottles that have cracks in the glass, I suspect this is a common occurrence with bottles which have thicker overlay. In many cases the bottles will show some sort of cracking or damage to the glass. I would not use these today for containing perfume, but rather put them on display. Bottles may also have damage to the silver overlay, resulting in silver bands either lifted up, pulled away from the glass or twisted at broken ends, some of these bands have been completely broken off. I am unaware if this was done via accident or by someone trying to remove the silver for its melt value. In any case, that is a terrible thing to do.
Bottles with the thick sterling overlay can be safely polished. I recommend a silver polishing cream, do not attempt to use dip products such as Tarn-X, I find it is too harsh a treatment for the silver. Polish by hand or with a special buffing tool on the end of a Dremel or similar handheld machine. Inspect your silver beforehand to make sure there are no loose or pulled strands of silver, and be careful your polishing cloth does not snag the silver overlay. I just use a soft cotton cloth and the silver cream, in gentle polishing strokes at first and when I have found that there are no snagged areas, I can polish a bit harder without fear of damage. Bring your silver up to a soft gleam or a high shine, don't worry about getting into the tiny recessed areas to remove the remnants of black tarnish, I find it adds some dimension to the engraving which is quite pleasant.
Many bottles are found with a whitish residue inside, this is due to residue from silver polish getting inside the bottles when being cleaned and not being rinsed completely out. It can be hard to get inside the bottles to effectively clean it. I have had luck with cotton swabs with longer handles and very skinny bottle brushes.
If your stopper is stuck or as we say, frozen in place, do not attempt to force it out, you may inadvertently snap it right off at the neck. I just leave mine as is and in place. I don't plan on using it as it was originally intended for perfume so I don't need to remove the stopper.
It is rare to find a bottle without any sort of damage and this should be reflected in the price. Carefully, paying close attention to the areas of glass in between the silver "bands." A bevy of these bottles covered in gleaming tracery displayed together makes for a luxurious addition to your perfume bottle collection. They also make superb gifts for the woman who has "everything" and appreciates fine antiques. In the period when they were manufactured, they were suggested to be given to brides, bridesmaids, bridge prizes, college graduate gifts, birthdays, anniversaries and hostess gifts.
Now we have learned about the more costly examples, we must now learn about the bottles on the lower end of the collecting spectrum. Lower priced examples are made by unknown manufacturers in order to compete with the higher end competitors.
Rather than having thick solid sterling silver encircled around the bottle, these simply have a very thin sterling silver overlay. Most of the time, these do not have any engraving on the silver and look pretty plain. These bottles are known for having snags and pulled areas, broken or missing spots in the thin bands of silver. Its easy to get your polishing cloth snagged by one of the damages parts, so be careful you don't end up pulling the whole piece off the glass.
Other bottles simply have the silver overlay literally painted on with a brush. These would be considered the cheapest out of the three types. Because this is a very thin layer, this type often has significant silver loss on the glass. These bottles were still being made into the 1930s-1950s period, these later examples usually in Italy or Bohemia (Czechoslovakia), in addition, you may find liquor decanters plentiful with this manner of decoration. Again, this silver decoration is very thin and tends to wear off with repeated washings so tread carefully when cleaning. I do not recommend polishing these too hard or too often or at all in examples in the worst condition.
French Mini Bottles:
The third type are the small vials from France. These little bottles are made up of black (amethyst) glass and almost always have a pattern of tiny diamond & daisy shapes made of silverplate covering the bottle. The base of the tiny bottle will be embossed "Made in France". The silverplated filigree screw cap usually has a long dauber and a semi precious stone such as turquoise or coral on the end of the cap. These stand about 1 1/4" tall and sometimes come with a small silver funnel.
Silver Overlay & Porcelain Bottles:
The fourth type of silver overlay perfume is the superb examples from Germany. These bottles were made of glazed porcelain that resembled glass and has silver crown shaped sprinkler tops. I have seen these in turquoise blue, green, pink, yellow and a pale pink color. They generally stand approximately 2 1/4" tall. The porcelain was then covered with a thick overlay of 999/1000 fine silver, higher and purer than sterling. The Rosenthal company manufactured these in the 1920s-1930s period.
Perfume bottle signed Spahr 1000 (Friedrich Wilhelm Spahr) dating from circa 1940. This blue porcelain bottle is decorated on both sides in an Art Nouveau style with pure 1000 silver. It also has a lovely crown stopper. It's 2 1/2" tall and 2" wide. photo from ebay seller haute-antiques.
All bottles will take a beautiful gleam when polished. I recommend Maas or Wrights Silver Cream and a soft cloth.
Miniature Mexican Silver Overlay Bottles:
Another type of silver overlay bottle is the miniature Mexican silver scent bottles. These small bottles have an almost abstract or floral overlay decorations over clear glass and date from the 1930s onward. They may have been souvenirs or made for the tourist trade. Look for markings for Mexican silversmiths and the fineness stamps.
Aftermarket Embellishments:
A very beautiful type of silver overlay concerns the recycling or upcycling as it is more commonly called these days, and commercial perfume bottles. The old perfume bottles, which would have been considered inexpensive, have now been turned into costly works of art by the addition of silver encasements or filigree "appliques." Some bottles I have found are Chanel, Bourjois, Guerlain, Coty, Lucien Lelong, Dana and others. The silver work is hand crafted by various artisans all over the world, mainly in Indochina and Mexico. These were once thought to be "limited editions" or special commemorative bottles, but this is not the case. These are most likely sold in jewelry stores, duty free and import shops.
One of the better known artists is Sammy Chiu of Hong Kong. SAMMY ARTS, was located at 9, Union House Arcade, Ground Floor, Union House, Chater Road, Hong Kong. The company were "Manufacturers , Exporters , Importers and Retailers of Jewellery , Diamonds , Handmade Sterling Silver and E. P. N. S. Wares, Ivory and Oriental Handicrafts." The proprietress of Mrs. Sammy Chiu Tse Kay. The company was in business at least from 1968 to 1980. I do not know if they are still in business.
Many of the Art Nouveau designed sterling silver appliques were produced sometime in the mid 1980s and hail from the famed London antique and art dealer Hayman & Hayman. Georgina Hayman selects antique and vintage bottles of well-known French perfume brands, and commissions expert silver artisans to embellish them with sterling silver overlays, "appliqués" of her designs!
Info from their About Me section at their etsy shop. "Before setting up in Alfies Antiques in Marylebone, Georgina Hayman was an established antique dealer at Antiquarius in Chelsea for 30 years, having started with her mother Marie-Claude in the 1980s. She has a vast range of beautiful antique frames in a whole load of materials - silver, ormolu, wood inlay, mother-of-pearl and even gutta-percha - ranging from the days of old cabinet photographs in the 1850s through to the 1950s Georgina also stocks a lovely range of Limoges boxes and scent bottles including old Chanel, Guerlain and Lanvin bottles."
You can view some of their current items on etsy .
