Les Parfums de Jaspy

Les Parfums de Jaspy of Paris was established in 1910 at 75 rue du Cardinal Lemoine, on the Left Bank in a district long associated with artisans, printers, and small luxury trades. The firm styled itself “Parfums Modernes et Originaux” (“Modern and Original Perfumes”), a subtitle that positioned Jaspy squarely within the early-20th-century movement to refresh French perfumery with lighter, more imaginative compositions and contemporary presentation. Despite this forward-looking identity, the company appears to have been very short-lived. Surviving evidence is sparse, with newspaper advertisements traceable only through 1929, after which the name disappears from the commercial record, suggesting a small house unable to survive the economic and structural changes of the late 1920s.

A significant moment in the firm’s history came in 1920, when Les Parfums de Jaspy entered the North American market. That year, the New York French Export Bureau, located at 105 Hudson Street, New York, announced the introduction of an “exquisite line of Jaspy perfumes,” emphasizing both their Parisian origin and their refined presentation. The Bureau was formally appointed sole distributor for the United States and Canada for Jaspy perfumes, powders, and soaps, acting on instructions received directly from the French owner, identified in advertisements as Société Anonyme Française Les Parfums de Jaspy, at the Paris address. This arrangement reflects the broader post–World War I effort by French luxury producers to reclaim and expand overseas markets, particularly in America, where French perfume carried immense prestige.

The Jaspy perfumes were promoted not only for their fragrances but also for their presentation, which advertisements described as decorated crystal containers of classical design. In reality, surviving examples reveal bottles made of exceptionally thin, fragile, mouth-blown glass, typical of small-scale artisanal production rather than mass manufacture. The bottles made for the majority of Les Parfums de Jaspy perfumes were conceived as miniature interpretations of Greek urns, their silhouettes borrowing from classical antiquity while remaining light and elegant in scale. Each was hand blown, not molded, giving the glass a subtle individuality—slight variations in thickness, contour, and clarity that signal true artisanal manufacture. Contemporary accounts emphasize that these bottles originated in a French province renowned for glassmaking, where the craft was practiced familially, with grandfathers, fathers, and youths barely into their teens all working together under one roof. This multigenerational transmission of skill was likened, in period writing, to the way weaving or knitting patterns were traditionally passed down within families in Scotland, underscoring the sense of inherited knowledge and continuity behind Jaspy’s refined packaging.

The same glassmaker who produced Jaspy’s perfume bottles also supplied a particularly novel luxury accessory aimed at fashionable women who smoked. This object was a small perfume vial fitted with a glass rod, designed to moisten the cigarette paper lightly before lighting—a gesture intended to soften the smoke and subtly perfume it. Made of white opaque glass with a gilt cap, the vial was deliberately shaped to resemble a cigarette in both size and appearance. It was meant to be carried discreetly alongside cigarettes in a lady’s monogrammed case, blending practicality, elegance, and a touch of modern indulgence that reflected changing social habits of the early 1920s.

A glowing description published in The Times-Union in 1921 praised both the scents and their presentation, declaring the Jaspy perfumes “irresistible” and the bottles “lovely beyond description.” Particular attention was given to the innovative stoppers, which functioned as perfume droppers rather than simple closures. These stoppers, rendered in effects meant to evoke gold, onyx, and jasper, were round, hollow, and finely finished. When the bottle was tipped, the stopper filled with perfume, which then slowly percolated through the stem, releasing the fragrance in a controlled, economical manner. This clever mechanism was highlighted as a practical luxury—minimizing waste while enhancing the ritual of application—and was singled out by contemporaries as a feature sure to be appreciated by discerning users.

The delicacy of these bottles, while aesthetically appealing, likely contributed to their rarity today and underscores the ephemeral nature of Jaspy as a perfume house—briefly visible, refined in intent, and now largely known through fragments of advertising and surviving glass.

 

 

 

The perfumes of Jaspy:

• 1920 Jasmin
• 1920 Ambre (for ambergris, "Jaspy's Ambre in a Chinese red and gold leafed bottle attracts attention.")
• 1920 Buisson Fleuri, subtitled Parfum frais des buissons en fleurs."( "One Jaspy perfume is called 'Buisson Fleuri'. The whole effect of 'Buisson Fleuri' is one of complete charm and loveliness concentrated in the most beautiful and fragile of bottles that even the Arabian Nights could produce. It is a small spherical bottle with a slender neck tipped with orange and black and touched with gold tracery. The fluid within is pale honey color as fragrant as an Oriental garden." It retailed for $7.98 in 1920.)
• 1920 Kadoura, subtitled "Composition originale du Japon"
• 1920 Rose de Chemin, subtitled "Parfum veloute de la rose de France." ("An another bottle of fragile glass, tall and slender is painted most delicately with some exotic little flowers and contains 'La Rose Chemin'. Charming!" It retailed for $14 in 1920.)
• 1920 Muscadin, subtitled "Parfum des Elegants de '93." ("The slim, graceful vial with its Muscadin the color of liquid amber - a Jaspy achievement, and one of his loveliest." It retailed for $11 in 1921.)
• 1920 Tanagra, subtitled "Parfum Royal".
• 1920 Myrodata, subtitled "Parfum aux Fleurs de l'Olympe". (The Spur, 1923: "Jaspy Myrodata is a perfume that has added value as a gift, for before the sense of smell is pleased, the ye is intrigued by the crystal flacon in which it is imprisoned and which has two swinging handles of mulberry-red red glass."  "Myrodata, appears in an Egyptian vase, with oblong handles of black celluloid." Priced at $8.50 in 1921. Another ad reads: "Myrodata is amber colored and comes in an urn-shaped bottle with gold finished pedestal and stopper; the urn is decorated on the sides with long blue drops. A large bottle - and it is priced at $15.00")
• 1921 Rose
• 1921 Ambrose
• 1921 Fleurs Bois
• 1921 La Tulipe Noire ("La Tulipe Noire, Parfumerie a la Francaise is the latest production of this celebrated maker of perfumes, whose artistry is equally displayed in the beautiful and unique vials, of a wonderful thinness, in which the delicious extracts are bottled. La Tulipe Noire carries out the meaning of the name in having a black tulip stopper. Three leaves of beautiful green panne velvet form the background for the black tulip." "Jaspy's Tulipe Noire blooms from a velvet petaled orchid crowned bottle and is a novel decorative bit." This was priced at $10.50 in 1921.)
• 1921 Reve de Chine
• 1921 Le Petit Chose ("Jaspy's Le Petit Chose is shown in a container cleverly fashioned to represent its namesake of French storybook fame.")
• 1921 Chypre
• 1922 Parfum Cigarette
• 1922 Jaspettes 
• 1922 Victoirie Lilas
• 1927 Lilas
• 1927 Narcissus
• 1927 Violet

 

The floral perfumes of Les Parfums de Jaspy formed the backbone of the house’s output, reflecting early-20th-century French taste for expressive but elegant flower compositions. Among the earliest, Jasmin (1920)—pronounced zhahs-MAN—was almost certainly built around jasmine absolute, offering a creamy, luminous white-floral character with gentle animalic warmth. Rose de Chemin (1920) (ROHZ duh shuh-MAN, “Rose of the Path”), subtitled “Velvety perfume of the rose of France,” suggested a soft, romantic rose encountered outdoors rather than a formal bouquet; its high retail price of $14 in 1920 points to a rich, concentrated extract. 

A simpler Rose (1921) likely followed as a purer, more straightforward floral. Later floral soliflores such as Lilas (1927) (lee-LAH), Violet (1927), and Narcissus (1927) reflect enduring popularity for powdery lilac, soft violet, and the sharper green-floral intensity of narcissus, by then interpreted in a cleaner, more modern late-1920s style.

Several Jaspy perfumes blended florals with warmth, woods, or sensual depth. Ambrose (1921)—pronounced AHN-brohz—suggests a fusion of amber and rose, likely yielding a richer, more enveloping floral than rose alone. Fleurs Bois (1921) (FLUHR bwah, “Flowers and Woods”) explicitly announced a floral-woody structure, combining blossoms with grounding notes such as sandalwood or cedar, an increasingly fashionable direction in the early 1920s. 

Muscadin (1920) (MUS-kah-dan), subtitled “Perfume of the élégants of ’93,” referenced fashionable society of Revolutionary-era France and was described as the color of liquid amber; it was likely a smooth musk-amber perfume with discreet floral undertones, retailing at $11 in 1921.

Amber, resinous, and mythic themes appear prominently in Jaspy’s more dramatic offerings. Ambre (1920) (AHN-bruh), explicitly referring to ambergris, would have been warm, balsamic, softly animalic, and long-lasting—its Chinese red and gold-leafed bottle reinforcing an aura of exotic luxury. Tanagra (1920) (tah-NAH-grah), named after ancient Greek figurines and subtitled “Royal Perfume,” evoked classical nobility; its scent was likely a poised blend of florals, iris, or violet resting on ambered resins.

Myrodata (1920) (mee-roh-DAH-tah), subtitled “Perfume with the Flowers of Olympus,” leaned fully into mythological grandeur. Myrodata (also spelled Myrodata Smyrnis or Myrodata Agrinion) is a traditional, aromatic, sun-cured tobacco variety originating from Greece and the Aegean region. Described as amber-colored and housed in urn-shaped bottles with dramatic handles and ornamentation, it suggests a warm floral-amber composition intended as both fragrance and ceremonial gift, with prices ranging from $8.50 to $15.00 between 1921 and 1923. Myrodata was silent film actress Clara Kimball Young's favorite perfume.

A distinct group of Jaspy perfumes traded in exoticism and fantasy, filtered through Parisian imagination. Buisson Fleuri (1920) (BWIH-sohn fluh-REE, “Flowering Bush”), subtitled “Fresh perfume of flowering bushes,” was described as pale honey-colored and “as fragrant as an Oriental garden,” implying a glowing blend of spring blossoms softened by warm undertones; it retailed for $7.98 in 1920. 

Kadoura (1920) (kah-DOO-rah), subtitled “Original composition of Japan,” reflected contemporary Japonisme rather than authenticity, likely blending soft florals, incense nuances, and woods. The name Kadoura is derived from Arabic roots, it signifies a "capable" or "powerful" person.

Rêve de Chine (1921) (REV duh SHEEN, “Dream of China”) similarly evoked an imagined East, probably using spices, resins, and florals to suggest mystery and distance rather than realism.

Several perfumes emphasized novelty, modern habits, or playful intimacy. Parfum Cigarette (1922) was designed to accompany smoking and was likely dry, powdery, or lightly woody so as not to clash with tobacco. Jaspettes (1922), a diminutive derived from the Jaspy name, represented sample size vials of the perfumes within the line. 

Le Petit Chose (1921) (luh puh-TEE SHOZ, “The Little Thing”) suggested charm and whimsy; its storybook-inspired container implies a light, intimate fragrance meant to delight rather than impress.clear glass pear shaped flacon with stopper made up of milk glass, a stylized man's head wearing a black hat. Bottle made in memory of French author, Alphonse Daudet who wrote the novel Le P'tite Chose.  

Taken as a whole, the Jaspy perfume line reveals a house deeply committed to poetic naming, emotional suggestion, and visual storytelling, with florals at its core, enriched by amber, musk, mythological grandeur, and exotic fantasy. The fragrances were conceived as experiences—romantic, intimate, and decorative—perfectly aligned with the fragile, imaginative bottles that made Jaspy briefly but memorably distinctive in the perfume world of the 1920s.