‘Tis The Season- Prince Matchabelli Golden Autumn

 

 

Yes, there really was a Prince Matchabelli; in fact, there existed both a Prince AND a Princess!

 

 

 

Born on July 23rd, 1885, in the former Soviet Union, in Georgia-

This amateur chemist was the Georgian ambassador to Italy for a time [where he became besotted with his wife-to-be, actress Norina Gilli].

They then fled to the U.S. in 1921 , after declaration of Soviet rule over his homeland.

In 1924 he and Norina established the Prince Matchabelli Perfume Company.

 

Norina designed the bottles, inspired by the Matchabelli crown; they have become iconic and extremely collectible.

 

 

While many drool over the bottles- and there is plenty to delight the eye –

I tend to drool over the jus.

 

 

This, alas, is fairly typical of me; I crave the knowledge of what lies beneath, far more than the vessel which contains.

 

 

F. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy-Herbstlied

 

All the bounty of the season beguiles your senses: ripe fruits, spice berries, the bark of cinnamon.

The heart of the matter fairly serenades with Bulgarian rose, peppery carnation, sultry Egyptian jasmine, creamy ylang-ylang.

Unctuous depths of base: amber and benzoin, musk and ambergris, labdanum and cedar, vetiver and civet!

All lifted with aldehydes atop- to breathe space and light into this complex, satisfying abundance of autumnal riches…

 

 

Hard to believe that this was created in 1948!

 

I love that Golden Autumn is celebratory, rather than melancholy or dreary.

Spicy, woody, balsamic, animalic- all these facets fraternize beautifully.

With all of its old-school orientalia, it has a deeply calming sense of plenitude, without excessive weight.

 

In the spirit of this cornucopia of seasonal delight-

Abundant blessings to you all!

 

 

 

 

 

Photo credits:

 

Dunlop Autumn: svac.org

Golden Autumn image: liveauctioneers.com

Jan van Huysum:commons. Wikimedia.org

Matchabelli bottle collection, photos of George and Norina Matchabelli: sorceryofscent.blogspot.com

Matchabelli bottle design: wikipedia.com

Autumn leaves: portfolio.kevinthorn.com

Mauritshuis hondje: holland.com

 

Ida Meister, Senior Editor

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8 comments

  • Oh yes, I do so love this one! Very hard to find of course, I am hoarding my little vintage bottle! If they ever brought it back in any semblance if its former glory I would buy it, but that's a dream….
     
    I have several other vintage Matchabelli perfumes and I love them all, it's a damn shame that the company suffered such a downfall when it changed hands.

  • Gorgeous,  Ida.   Thanks for this.
    My paternal grandmother's signature fragrance was STRADIVARI.      Which I remember as an Oriental posited somewhere between SHALIMAR and TABU.    It also came in that "crown" bottle.       By all accounts the new formulation bears no relation to the stuff Grandmother wore in the 1960's and 1970's.   Shame.
    D.

  • How wonderfulto see you, Flora !
    You were so generous with many vintage samples, sweet lady 😉
    Ah, David ! Stradivarius was gorgeous, wasn't it ?
    My mother loved Abano bath oil.
     
    While I'm at it-
    Dawn Spencer Hurwitz makes a wonderful replication of Golden Autumn, well worth the having;-0

  • David, I bought some vintage Stradivari and fell in love with it, then I found another bottle to give to a good friend who plays the violin AND loves Oriental style perfumes. She loved it too! 🙂
    Ida, I did not know that DSH had done a version of this, I surely must try it very soon!  She is so very talented.
     

  • chayaruchama- Do you know which fragrance Dawn Spencer Hurwitz has replicated for Golden Autumn? Thank you!

  • Oh my, Golden Autumn is a Chypre must have! If I am not able to find a vintage bottle I will be purchasing the DSH duplicate of the original formula. The DSH perfume that replicates Golden Autumn is called Golden Autumn Type. It is on her Essense Oils site: Vintage Collection, page 1. Wow, so Stradivari is in the Oriental group now all I need are the notes. I have 4 vintage bottles of Stradivari, one a pure parfum and I am sooo in love with the fragrance. It is a polar opposite to the very floral vintage Wind Song which I adore, too. 

  • One of my early hearbreaks in life was discovering that fragrances were not forever. The first such experience was in my very early teens when Avon stopped making Lander. Then Evyan stopped making Gay Diversion, Avon quit Forever Spring; and one by one, Aphrodesia, Golden Autumn, Occur, Midnight (the current one is an imposter), Liu, Russian Leather, Aquamarine, and many more passed from the scene.

    But I discovered that if you buy powdered sachet in your beloved fragrances, it will keep forever. I’m still holding onto a small jar of Tientsin sachet bought from the Watkins man in about 1947. I don’t use it; I just revel in its delightful scent every now and then, and maybe shed a tear or two.