A perfume & extract company was established in 1862 by James M. Seely in Detroit, Michigan.
Advertisement:
An 1880s tradecard states:
“Superior to Imported Perfumes. Odors - American Rose, Easter Lily, Columbian Bouquet and Anemone.
For Sale By All Druggists.
Send 50 Cents For Sample Box of Four Odors."
Bottles:
Some of Seely’s perfume bottles were meant for apothecaries and barber shops, these are clear glass and have the name of the perfume or cologne etched onto the front of the bottle. The bottles are easily identified as Seely’s as their name is always etched before the perfume name. Other bottles will have paper labels, some are very ornate with chromolithography, others are a little bit more simpler.
Aeroplane Girl Perfume
Perfumes:
Perfumes were often called “Qualite Royal”. They also produced a hair oil called Seely's Opera Hair Oil. Seely perfumes are not easily found. I have listed all that I could find, if you know of another, please let me know.
The perfumes of Seely:
- Columbia Bouquet
- May Queen
- American Rose
- Egyptian Lotus
- Easter Lily
- White Rose
- Aeroplane Girl, after 1905
- Purple Lilac
- Anemone
- Lilas de France
- Tess
What happened to Seelys?
The New York Times had printed an following article on March 7, 1902.
“The American Perfume Company with a capital of $5,000,000 is a combination which will be effected in a few days by about fifteen of the largest perfume manufacturers and handlers of the United States. Headquarters will be established in New York, whence the movement emanates, and there will be distributing centers in Detroit and Chicago. Detroit firms in the movement will probably be the Michigan Drug Company. F. Stearns & Co., and the Seely Manufacturing Company. - The following are some of the firms outside of Detroit which will join the combination:
- Colgate & Co.
- Richard Hudnut
- Ladd & Coffin
- Lazell
- Dalley & Co.
- Ricksecker & Co.. New York
- the Wright Company
- Woodruff Company
- Adolph Spiehler & Co. of Rochester. N. Y
- A. Gorgens & Co of Cincinnati
- Cave & Co. of Philadelphia
- T. P. Baldwin & Co. of Chicago
- Meyer Brothers Drug Company of St. Louis
- Greenbaum & Co. of San Francisco
Feel free to email me for details or any questions. I also have a perfume identification and appraisal service here on ebay, click on my Me page for info. Check out the 200+ guides & reviews I have written on perfumes on ebay.If you find my guide helpful, please vote YES below. Thanks!
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Pictures are courtesy of the following ebay sellers, please take a moment to view their current auctions:
- shelbyglh-s


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