Thursday, October 20, 2016

Dans la Nuit by Worth c1924

Dans la Nuit by Worth: (In the Night) launched in 1922 in France, it was available in a wider distribution in 1924. This was Worth's signature fragrance; created by Maurice Blanchet; it was initially a gift to distinguished clientele of the fashion house. The perfume’s production was halted during WW2, it didn’t reach counters on US shores again until 1953.





c1926 Franklin Simon ad.



Dans la Nuit was available as parfum extrait, eau de toilette, face powder, face powder compact, eau de toilette, talc, bath oil, dusting powder and soap.

The Spatula, 1922:
"Dans La Nuit. Societe Worth, Paris, France."

Drug & Cosmetic Industry, 1938:
"Worth's eau de Cologne (distributed in U. S. by Al Rosenfeld, Inc.) comes in the Dans La Nuit and Je Reviens fragrances, in four sizes of crystal-clear Lalique bottles. The fragrances are very similar to the perfumes."


Fragrance Composition:


So what does it smell like? It is classified as an aldehydic floral fragrance for women.
  • Top notes: aldehydes, camellia, blackcurrant and berries
  • Middle notes: jasmine, rose, tuberose and iris
  • Base notes: orris, ambergris, musk, cistus labdanum, vetiver and sandalwood


Bottles:



Originally presented in an orb shaped Art Deco-styled flacon, known as the boule, made by René Lalique et Cie.  The earliest design for the stopper was a disc with an eclipsed moon of crystal-polished glass in bas-relief against a cobalt-stained sky filled with raised, crystal-polished stars. This style stopper was available from the mid-1920's through the mid-1930's, when it was discontinued due to an allegation of trademark infringement. Proctor & Gamble had objected that the star-moon motif was too similar to its Ivory soap logo.




From the mid-30's on, the boule was issued with a stopper featuring the eclipsed moon and, in lieu of stars, the perfume name Dans la Nuit rendered in a lowercase calligraphic font. 

The Rene Lalique et Cie 'model register' mentions the DLN boule model on March 29, 1924. On Jan. 20, 1926, a one-ounce boule is recorded, and after Nov 22, 1929, the one-ounce boule was produced with both stopper styles. However, a photo of the boule with the 'dans la nuit calligraphic' stopper, and it is dated 'after 1925'. 

The boule was rendered in a number of sizes. On October 5, 1938 there is a notation that a Dans la Nuit perfume boule was produced in a size of 9.8 inches. The 9.8 inch boule had the 'dans la nuit' stopper.

Also presented  in electric blue glass and two sizes of flattened spherical smokey blue glass bottles with turquoise plastic stoppers, various molded marks of Lalique.










photo by Bonham's



1928 ad showing the atomizer flacon








c1940? photo by ebay seller lightofthemoon





Fate of the Fragrance:


Discontinued, date unknown, still being sold in 1975.

Reformulations


Dans la Nuit was reformulated in 1985 and relaunched in 1986, for the 50th anniversary of the launch of this perfume, then discontinued and relaunched in 2000. 



The reformulation's composition:
  • Top notes: aldehydes, green notes, violet, bergamot and lemon
  • Middle notes: carnation, cinnamon, orris root, jasmine, ylang-ylang, lily-of-the-valley and rose
  • Base notes: sandalwood, tonka bean, amber, musk, civet, vanilla and vetiver

For the 1986 relaunch, the perfume was presented in a replica of the original 1924 Lalique molded glass Worth perfume flacon, the spherical clear glass body was molded in low relief with stars, enameled with a satinized (chalky like) blue finish; supporting a flattened circular stopper molded with a crescent moon. The bottle holds 350ml and is the largest size bottle Lalique made for this perfume. This bottle originally retailed for $300 (1,500 French francs) in 1986. When you find this bottle, it will be marked “French Bottle” and “Creation R. Lalique”, also inscribed with number on the bottom, which should correspond to the number inscribed on the base of the stopper.




CLICK HERE TO FIND DANS LA NUIT PERFUME BY WORTH




Additional information used in this guide courtesy of:
  • The Art of Rene Lalique: Flacons et Powder Boxes by Christie Mayer Lefkowith
  • The Art of Perfume by Christie Mayer Lefkowith
  • Lalique Perfume Bottles by Glenn & Mary Lou Utt
  • Collector's Weekly website

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