A. A. Vantine & Co. occupied a fascinating place within late nineteenth and early twentieth century American luxury culture, serving as one of the country’s most influential importers of exotic decorative arts, perfumes, incense, and curiosities from Asia and the Middle East. Founded in 1869 by Ashley Abraham Vantine in New York City, the company established its flagship premises on West 39th Street with additional branches later opening in Boston and Philadelphia. At a time when most Americans had little direct exposure to Asian decorative traditions, Vantine’s offered customers a carefully romanticized vision of the “Orient” — a world presented through lacquered screens, carved ivories, silk textiles, sandalwood carvings, incense burners, porcelains, fans, and perfumes imported from Japan, China, India, Persia, and other regions broadly grouped under the fashionable Victorian concept of “the East.” The store quickly became synonymous with cosmopolitan sophistication and cultivated exoticism.
Entering Vantine’s must have felt like stepping into a theatrical dream of distant empires. The company deliberately staged its merchandise to evoke mystery, sensuality, and refinement. Americans during the late Victorian and Edwardian eras were captivated by Orientalism — a cultural fascination with Asian aesthetics filtered through Western fantasy and romanticism — and Vantine’s became one of the principal suppliers of that fantasy. The fragrance department especially reflected this fascination. Perfumes were often marketed with names and imagery invoking temples, geishas, Eastern gardens, rare woods, spices, incense, and imagined harems. Even their incense burners, many of which were imported from France rather than Asia itself, were designed to satisfy American expectations of “Oriental” luxury. The blending of genuine imported wares with European interpretations of Eastern design created a richly layered aesthetic that appealed deeply to upper-middle-class consumers seeking novelty and sophistication.
One of Vantine’s greatest innovations was its extensive mail-order catalogue business. Long before modern online shopping, the company allowed Americans from across the country to purchase luxurious imported goods without ever visiting New York. Their catalogues read almost like travel literature and decorative arts journals combined, encouraging customers to imagine themselves surrounded by rare treasures gathered from distant civilizations. Advertisements assured patrons that they could “rest comfortably at home in your easy chair” while selecting from “the largest collection of Oriental goods in America.” This promise transformed exotic luxury into something accessible to affluent households nationwide. Through illustrated catalogues, Vantine’s effectively democratized a fantasy of global elegance, bringing imported incense, silk kimonos, perfumes, porcelain, carved furniture, and decorative novelties into American parlors and boudoirs.
Among the company’s most beloved offerings were its elaborate fan catalogues, which reflected both fashion trends and social customs of the era. Vantine’s sold more than one hundred distinct fan styles crafted from bamboo, sandalwood, bone, gauze, silk, paper, and sequined materials. These fans ranged from inexpensive decorative souvenirs to highly ornate accessories suitable for formal evening attire. The 1906 advertisements emphasized their popularity as gifts for cotillions, bridesmaids, weddings, dinners, and other fashionable social occasions. During this period, the fan was far more than a cooling device — it functioned as an accessory of flirtation, elegance, etiquette, and feminine identity. Vantine’s expertly capitalized on this cultural symbolism by presenting fans as luxurious yet practical objects infused with exotic artistry.
The company’s perfume offerings similarly embodied this blend of fantasy and refinement. Vantine’s fragrances were frequently packaged in decorative bottles inspired by Asian motifs, often accompanied by elaborate presentation boxes and orientalized graphics. Their perfumes likely appealed to women seeking an escape from ordinary domestic life into a world of imagined luxury and sensuality. Scents built around sandalwood, incense, florals, spices, musk, and resins fit perfectly within the Orientalist atmosphere cultivated by the brand. To many consumers, purchasing a Vantine perfume was not merely buying fragrance — it was purchasing a romanticized experience of travel, mystery, and cosmopolitan sophistication.
Yet behind the elegance and respectability of the company lay a far darker chapter. In 1926, Vantine’s was purchased by the infamous gangster Arnold Rothstein, one of the most powerful organized crime figures of the Prohibition era. Rothstein reportedly used the highly respected import business as a cover for narcotics smuggling operations. Because Vantine’s already handled large volumes of legitimate imported merchandise and maintained an impeccable reputation with customs authorities, shipments entering the country attracted minimal scrutiny. This allowed illegal drugs to move through the company’s established import channels with relative ease. The arrangement reflected the sophisticated methods by which organized crime infiltrated respectable commerce during the 1920s. However, the operation proved short-lived. In 1928, Rothstein was murdered following a high-stakes gambling dispute, bringing an abrupt end to his criminal involvement with the company.
Today, Vantine’s survives in memory as both a symbol of America’s fascination with Oriental luxury and a revealing artifact of its era’s cultural contradictions. The company represented elegance, escapism, decorative beauty, and global curiosity, while simultaneously reflecting the romanticized and often distorted Western perceptions of Asian cultures that defined much of nineteenth-century Orientalism. Its catalogues, perfumes, fans, and decorative objects remain highly collectible today, preserving the atmosphere of a vanished world where Americans sought enchantment through imported luxuries from lands they knew mostly through imagination and fantasy.
Collecting Vantine's Goods:
Among collectors today, the most commonly encountered objects from A. A. Vantine & Co. are generally the smaller decorative novelty items and giftwares that were produced in larger quantities and sold at relatively accessible prices during the company’s peak years. Chief among these are the ornate metal incense burners, many of which were imported from France despite being marketed within Vantine’s romantic “Oriental” atmosphere. These burners often featured pierced brass or bronze bodies with domed lids, dragon motifs, pagoda shapes, or Moorish-inspired detailing. Equally common are the company’s incense tins, usually decorated with colorful lithographed labels featuring exoticized Asian imagery and decorative typography. Fans are also frequently encountered, ranging from simple printed paper examples to more elaborate bamboo, gauze, or sandalwood varieties. Hanging wicker sachet containers — delicate woven baskets intended to hold perfumed sachets or potpourri — remain popular among collectors for their fragile charm and decorative appeal.
Postcards and advertisements from Vantine’s survive in considerable numbers as well, providing vivid glimpses into the company’s lavish visual marketing style. These pieces often depict idealized Japanese women, Persian interiors, temple scenes, peacocks, cherry blossoms, and imagined Eastern landscapes rendered in rich jewel-like colors. Mahjong sets, which became wildly fashionable in America during the 1920s Mahjong craze, are also relatively obtainable, particularly boxed sets with bone and bamboo tiles. Decorative vases, Japanese dolls dressed in silk kimonos, and powder boxes are similarly among the more familiar surviving objects. Powder boxes especially reflect the company’s talent for combining functionality with exotic ornamentation, often incorporating lacquer finishes, gilded decoration, or Asian-inspired motifs intended to transform ordinary vanity items into luxurious decorative treasures.
Far more elusive, however, are the company’s perfumes, especially examples still preserved within their original lacquer presentation boxes. These are among the rarest and most coveted surviving Vantine artifacts because the fragile bottles, labels, and decorative packaging were easily damaged or discarded over time. The bath salts and soaps are equally difficult to locate today, largely because they were consumable products intended for use rather than preservation. Catalogues are particularly valuable to historians and collectors because they document the astonishing breadth of merchandise once offered by the company. Original Vantine catalogues not only illustrate products but also preserve the romantic language and Orientalist fantasies used to market them.
Lamps and lampshades produced or sold by Vantine’s are also scarce, particularly complete examples retaining their original shades. These often incorporated pierced metalwork, silk panels, pagoda forms, or painted parchment shades inspired by Asian decorative arts. Oriental rugs and carpets, though once an important aspect of Vantine’s business, are less frequently identified today because provenance can be difficult to establish unless labels or documentation survive. Bronze lamps, porcelain tableware, bronze and porcelain jardinieres, and towering porcelain or cloisonné floor vases represent some of the grandest decorative objects sold by the company. These pieces transformed American interiors into theatrical fantasies of Eastern opulence, filling drawing rooms with richly colored glazes, metallic surfaces, dragons, cranes, lotus blossoms, and intricate enamelwork.
Many of Vantine’s rarer luxury imports were tied directly to fashionable entertaining and domestic refinement. Teas, coffees, and imported delicacies reflected the growing fascination with international cuisine and ceremonial dining rituals. Dinner gongs and chimes introduced auditory exoticism into the home, allowing wealthy Americans to stage elaborate dinners with theatrical flair. Paper lanterns and wall scrolls added decorative atmosphere, while draperies, Baghdad cushions, and Oriental silk fabrics transformed parlors into richly layered fantasy interiors inspired by Turkish, Persian, Chinese, and Japanese aesthetics. Rattan furniture and teakwood furniture became especially fashionable during the late Victorian and Edwardian periods for sunrooms, verandas, and artistic interiors seeking a lighter, cosmopolitan look.
Among the most exquisite and difficult-to-find Vantine objects are the wearable luxury accessories and fine decorative arts. Kimonos and other clothing items offered Americans a chance to participate directly in Oriental fashion trends, while shawls and Japanese brocade bags reflected the popularity of imported textiles and embroidery. Kanzashi hair ornaments — delicate Japanese hair accessories traditionally worn with formal dress — are extraordinarily uncommon today when associated directly with Vantine’s. Jewelry and parasols also ranged from relatively simple examples to astonishingly luxurious creations fitted with ivory handles, silver mounts, jade decorations, or elaborate carved fittings. Some parasols and fans blurred the line between utility and jewelry entirely, functioning as status symbols within fashionable society.
The rarest and most imposing pieces from Vantine’s were likely the large bronzes, carved ivories, and solid silver tea services. These expensive luxury objects catered to affluent collectors furnishing grand homes in the fashionable Orientalist style. Carved ivory sculptures, often depicting deities, court figures, animals, or mythological scenes, reflected the Victorian fascination with intricate hand craftsmanship and imported curiosities. The silver tea services embodied ceremonial elegance, while monumental bronzes and decorative jardinieres transformed interiors into museum-like showcases of global luxury. Toys sold by Vantine’s are also exceptionally difficult to locate today, particularly those retaining original packaging, as children’s objects were rarely preserved.
Together, these surviving objects reveal the extraordinary range of Vantine’s business — from inexpensive souvenirs and vanity novelties to museum-quality decorative arts and lavish furnishings. The contrast between the relatively common incense burners or postcards and the scarcely surviving perfumes, textiles, bronzes, and luxury furnishings reflects both differences in original production numbers and the fragile nature of the materials themselves. Today, collectors value these objects not only for their beauty but for their ability to evoke the richly romanticized world of Oriental luxury that captivated America during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
The Perfumes of Vantine's:
The perfumes and toiletries listed below are ones that I have found in original advertisements, the dates given are from what year I saw them in an ad, they may have been introduced earlier, but I have no exact proof just yet.
- 1898 Corylopsis
- 1898 Delhi Heliotrope
- 1898 Japanese Iris
- 1900 Java Lily
- 1900 Mary Stuart
- 1905 Koi Sai
- 1906 Sandalwood
- 1908 Geisha Flowers
- 1908 Hi Yang
- 1908 Jafleur
- 1908 Van San
- 1908 Chypre
- 1908 Kai Sang
- 1909 Mekado
- 1909 Pagoda
- 1909 Sandalwood
- 1909 Wisteria
- 1909 Vinenta
- 1909 Viorenta
- 1912 India Pearl Tooth Powder
- 1912 Winsum Lilac
- 1912 Geisha Flowers Sachet
- 1912 Kutch Sandalwood Talcum
- 1912 Wistaria Sachet
- 1912 Sandalwood Extract
- 1912 Lotus Flower Extract
- 1912 Geisha Flowers Extract
- 1912 Wistaria Extract
- 1912 Geisha Face Powder
- 1912 Sandalwood Sachet
- 1912 Geisha Disappearing Cream
- 1912 Sandalwood Soap
- 1912 Wistaria Toilet Water
- 1912 Geisha Nail Stone (part of Geisha Manicure Set)
- 1912 Geisha Nail Bleach (part of Geisha Manicure Set)
- 1913 Japanese Corylopsis
- 1913 Flowery Kingdom
- 1914 Attar of Rose
- 1915 Nirvana
- 1915 Orange Blossom
- 1917 Flowery Kingdom
- 1917 Geisha
- 1917 Geisha Flowers
- 1917 Gul Raesee
- 1917 Japanese Lily
- 1917 Kutch Sandalwood
- 1917 O Lotus San
- 1917 Wistaria Blossom
- 1920 Orchid
- 1920 Oriental Violet
- 1920 Rose Drops
- 1920 Singapore Sandalwood
- 1920 Turkish Rose
- 1922 Hana Violet
- 1922 Charmeen
- 1922 Mimosa
- 1922 Nile Lily
- 1922 Sacred Lily
- 1922 Violet
- 1922 Mikado
- 1922 Jafleur Toilet Water
- 1922 Jafleur Powder
- 1922 Jafleur Talc
- 1922 Jafleur Cold Cream
- 1922 Jafleur Vanishing cream
- 1922 Lotus Flower
- 1925 Mekado Bouquet
- 1925 Sweet Pea
- 1927 Zanadu
- 1930 Anna Pavlova
- 1933 Embassy
- 1940 Apple Blossom
- 1940 Lilac
- 1940 Clover
- 1940 Escapade
- Winsum Lilac