IPBA Classic Perfume Advertising 1920 - 1970 by Jacqueline Johnson

In this book, Jacqueline presents to us an array of fabulous graphics that represent perfume advertising at its best from the period of 1920 through 1970.  This book is a beautiful and colorful testament to the collecting interests of one of our dearest, and now lost, IPBA members, Jacqueline Johnson. Most of us know her from her columns in the Perfume Bottle Quarterly.

Her presentation is arranged alphabetically by perfume house, starting with Jean d’Albret and ending with Yardley, with examples of ads that she labels “Perfume in Print”. Under each section, she gives us tidbits of historical information as well as captioning, when possible, the magazines where the ads were published, and their respective time points. There is also a section on “Point of Purchase Paper ad Samples” and a small selection of “Various Perfume and Perfumed Soap Labels”. Jacqueline very much succeeds in tying together the times under which the ads were published by synchronizing the ads to historical events, especially as they pertained to women. For instance, “When Johnny came marching home from the European theater after WW II, he had a bottle of French perfume in his pocket … or even two … one for his mom and one for his best girl.” Jacqueline explains in her introduction how advertising has whetted our quest, and lust, for intoxicating fragrances (and bottles!) and all that they promised.

Sadly, Jacqueline never saw her book come to fruition. Her family, specifically her son Scotty, accepted the responsibility to edit the very first proofs of Jacqueline’s book.

This book would be a wonderful gift for a beginning collector as it tantalizes the reader with beautiful graphics and just enough history to whet one’s appetite to dig deeper into the field of perfume advertising.