Ann Haviland LILY OF THE VALLEY Perfume 4 oz Vintage

Ann Haviland Lily of the Valley eau de toilette was launched in 1939 and is long discontinued.

This is an extremely rare, full, new in box bottle!

4 fl oz toilet water (eau de toilette)

Decades before beauty pioneers Estée Lauder and Elizabeth Arden released fragrances for their cosmetics brands, even before Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel put her name on the now-iconic No. 5 in 1921, Ann Haviland was a celebrated American perfumer with a creative approach to making and selling fragrance. Her motto was “A perfume for every woman and to every woman her own perfume”. Haviland was born circa 1878 in Millington, Maryland and grew up on a family estate with a conservatory & extensive flower gardens, where she learned to identify different varieties of rose by smell. She started her own business as a perfumer around 1912. She received training from prominent French perfumer Eugene Charabot in Paris. Before long, her sensitive sense of smell had earned her the nickname of “the woman with the most wonderful nose in the world.”

Ann Haviland created custom perfumes for individual peronalities. For actress Theda Bara, she created a perfume from woods and gums imported from Iran, and pomegranate blossoms, “typifying the depth of her soul and radiating warmth” for a subtle and haunting scent, as reported by the Columbus Dispatch.

Gabriel D’Annunzio, known for his belief that perfume was as delicate as music, helped create the “Adele Rowland” perfume. This fragrance was designed by Ann Haviland, a fragrance expert who tailored scents to match individual personalities. The perfume was installed in the Maxine Elliott Theatre, where actress Adele Rowland starred in “Nobody Home.”

D’Annunzio, who had spent years discovering ancient perfume formulas, shared his knowledge with Haviland because she treated perfume-making as an art. She selected ingredients with care, aiming to express personality through scent, much like an artist used colors to create a painting.

At the theatre, Haviland used a special system to gently release the perfume into the air, similar to how a flower’s fragrance drifted on a breeze. The “Adele Rowland” perfume captured both the essence of the actress and the play itself, blending rose and jasmine for a subtle, fresh, and unique scent.

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Ann Haviland

Ann Haviland was a pioneering American perfumer and entrepreneur in the early 20th century. Known as the "creator of true American perfumes," she established her brand in 1910, at a time when the fragrance industry was dominated by European names. Haviland’s perfumes were distinctive for their delicate, floral notes, often inspired by the natural beauty of flowers. She believed in the emotional power of fragrance, promoting her creations as a way to evoke memories and enhance the personal experiences of those who wore them. Her success was notable not only for the quality of her perfumes but also for her innovative marketing strategies. Ann Haviland’s perfumes were among the first to be advertised directly to women in fashion magazines like Harper's Bazaar and Vogue, a novel approach at the time. She packaged her scents in beautifully designed bottles, emphasizing the luxurious and artistic aspects of her products. Her branding positioned perfume as an essential accessory for modern women, helping to establish the importance of fragrance in everyday life. Ann Haviland's contributions to the perfume industry extended beyond her own creations. She played a key role in shaping American perceptions of fragrance, making it a more personal and accessible luxury. Her work paved the way for future American perfumers and helped to create a distinct American identity in the global perfume market. Today, she is remembered as a trailblazer who brought elegance, creativity, and a distinctly American sensibility to the world of fragrance.