Narcisse Noir by Caron c1911

Narcisse Noir by Caron: launched in 1911. Created by Ernest Daltroff. Pronounced "NAR-SEESE-NWAR", the name means "black narcissus" in French.

The Pharmaceutical Era - Volume 58, 1924:

"Caron Corporation - When Caron captured the elusive odor of the narcissus bloom at night and transformed it into a liquid perfume, the company's experts accomplished a feat that had tempted and disheartened chemists for generations. The narcissus has a different odor by night than it has by day, the night odor being heavier and more penetrating. 

Caron, being the first to make successfully a reproduction of the night blooming narcissus, the firm put most of its energies in this odor and its lines and has featured it from the start. Narcisse Noir is acknowledged even by competitors to be one of the big successes of modern perfumery. 

 Narcisse Blanc is the companion perfume to Narcisse Noir. N'Aimez Que Moi (love only me) is the next popular brand in the Caron lines, with Tabac Blond in close pursuit. 

Another big Caron success was introduced last Christmas. It is Nuit de Noel (Christmas Eve). This perfume comes in a black bottle, an original idea in the trade which caught the public fancy. South America has also proven a fertile field for the Caron products introduced there in 1909. Tabac Blond seems to appeal to the South Americans and this brand almost as well there as Narcisse Noir.  

The Caron company was established in France in 1900, with importations starting to America with the output of the factory. The firm was incorporated America last year. F.N. Carpenter is general manager the American business."

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? It is classified as a floral oriental fragrance for women. It begins with  a fresh flowery top, followed by a dry floral heart, resting on a sensual floral base. Floral bouquet; heady blend of roses, jasmine and orange blossoms.

• Top notes:  neroli, cassie, orange blossom, orange, bergamot, mandarin, petitgrain, lemon 
• Middle notes: clove, ylang ylang, orris, tuberose, jasmine, jonquil and tincture of rose
• Base notes: heliotrope, vanilla, Persian black narcissus, vetiver, civet, musk and sandalwood

The classic Narcisse Noir (Caron 1912) featured narcissus and jasmine, and also the related jonquil in its heart note (Glöss 1995), but according to Turin and Sanchez (2009), the reformulated version is a a mixture of sweet, jasmine and orange blossom .

Bottles:

Julien Viard designed the bottle for Narcisse Noir and it was originally made by Cristalleries de Pantin, later editions were made by Baccarat. The bottle was inspired by an inkwell, its curved, rounded bottle squatty in size, and molded with four "claws" in colorless, pressed glass.  It was fitted with a black opaque glass disk shaped cap molded in the shape of an open narcissus blossom.  

The deluxe edition of the bottle was presented in a cylinder shaped cardboard box sheathed in gold and black satin paper, illustrated with a polychrome figure in reserve. This was generally reserved for the 2 oz bottle of parfum (extrait).

Originally, the bottle could be had in two different boxes: 

• "plain box" which is a square covered in black paper.
• "deluxe satin box" which is the cylinder case covered in black satin.

The small size held 1/2 oz, the next size up held 3/4 oz, then 1 1/8 oz. The Grand Modele bottle held 7.5 oz. 

The face powder was contained inside of a turquoise colored satin bag and the gold paper label was affixed to the drawstring. The bag contains 3 oz. of powder. Just like the parfum, the face powder was available in two different presentations: the "plain box" and the "deluxe satin box." These were identical to the boxes used for the parfum. The plain black box measures 3" square x 1.75" tall. The satin box box measures 3.25" diameter x 2-1/8" tall. These are considered very hard to find today.

The "Trayette" was a presentation set, consisting of two bottles of extract and face powder, in a satin covered box. I have never seen this gift set, so I consider it one of the more rarer of presentations for Narcisse Noir. If you have one, please send me a photo.

The companion perfume, Narcisse Blanc was also housed in the same bottle as Narcisse Noir, except that it has an opaque white glass stopper rather than the black. Also, Narcisse Blanc was put up in the frosted colorless glass bottles which look similar to the original Narcisse bottles but have a leaf decoration molded spreading across the top shoulders of the bottle. Narcisse Blanc was also housed in the same boxes as Narcisse Noir, the "plain box" and the "deluxe satin box."

The distinct shape of the Caron bottle had become so successful that rival perfume companies adopted the floral molded stopper design for their own "Narcisse" themed fragrances, some in different colors or designs. However, these copies were priced at the lower end of the market and were inferior to those produced for Caron both by Pantin and Baccarat. It was such a problem for Caron that the company sued the Du Moiret Co., New York for selling their Narcisse perfume in a similar container.

One thing to remember, is that when the bottles were advertised in old newspapers, they generally rounded up the bottle's volumes. Caron had unusual sizes for their bottles and sometimes American retailers would round up in order to help the public understand the sizes. For instance, the 0.56 oz bottle might be listed as 0.5 oz in American newspapers. However, this is not always the rule. Sizes have changed over the years so what might have been the height for a 0.5 oz bottle at one time, might be a different height at a later time. I know this mainly had to do with the change in different bottle manufacturers. I have made a brief list of what I found in newspaper ads and what is actually stated on the bottle's labels. If your bottle is missing its label, tag or box, you can get somewhat of an idea of the volume size by the measurements. The rule is not steadfast so take it for what it's worth.

 Parfum in Narcissus bottle:

• 0.25 oz = stands 
• 0.5 oz = stands 1.75" tall
• 0.56 oz stands = 1.5" tall
• 1 oz  = stands 2" tall
• 1.232 oz 
• 1.85 oz = stands 2.25" tall
• 2 oz = stands 2.75" tall
• 2.112 oz = stands 2 1/8" tall
• 3 oz = stands
• 6 oz = stands 3" tall
• 7 2/3 oz = stands 3.5" tall

• Other bottles:
• 2.5" tall =
• 3.75" tall
• 4" tall 

Other Narcisse Noir bottles:

When Narcisse Noir was first launched, Caron had three other similar bottles produced to hold companions to the parfum (extrait): Poudre, Lotion and Eau de Toilette. All three of these bottles date to the 1911-1930 period. 

A faceted, "hand hammered" effect version of the Narcisse Noir flacon was used to contain the "Poudre", which was actually sachet powder. It held one ounce of powder and measures 3" diameter x 2 5/8" tall. The base is cut and polished and has no markings as to manufacturer. It was not made by Baccarat but was probably produced at Pantin. There are two paper labels on base, one reads" Paris France Caron Corporation, NY, U.S. Trademark 1G4.476" and the other notes the volume as "1 oz. 975."

The "Lotion" and the "Eau de Toilette" bottles look nearly identical to the one used for the Parfum, however, both had their names molded into the glass. The Eau de Toilette bottle stood 3.4" tall x 4.2" diameter and held 8 oz.  Now you have to remember, Lotion in those days was nothing like the lotion we use today. Lotion during that time was a hair grooming liquid to add perfume and a glossy sheen. The Lotion bottle stands 3.5" tall x 3.5" diameter. 

 I believe those were also produced at Pantin. All three bottles are considered very rare to find today, so don't hesitate to snatch it up when you come across one.

Another item that is very hard to find today is the original bottle for the "Toilet Poudre" which was a talcum powder. It was a tall, cylindrical bottle made up of colorless glass and was faceted much in the same way as the sachet powder bottle. The bottom of the bottle is molded with "CARON Made in France." It stood 5.5" x 2.25" diameter. It had a chrome shaker top and a faceted black glass cap. The gorgeous lithographed paper label covered most of the bottle and was of the ancient Greek theme that Caron adopted around the 1910-1920 period. Similar graphics were used on the original glass bottle used for Bain de Champagne. The version used in the 1930s still had the Greek label but no longer used the black glass cap and used a gold tone cap instead which had the gold foil paper label reading "Le Narcisse Noir Caron." 

 

The Pharmaceutical Era, 1924:

"The Caron Corp., of New York, added to their Narcisse Noir line about a month ago the talcum powder in this odor, which they expect to be very popular. This is a very soft, fine powder, and more highly perfumed than most talcums, and it is on these two qualities, as well as the very attractive package, that they base their expectations of its popularity. The package has a black cap, to carry out the thought embodied in the name of the odor, and the label, which was evidently drawn by a very good artist, is also gray and black on white paper."

The perfume and its bottle were both featured in the movie Sunset Boulevard, starring Gloria Swanson in 1950.

A limited edition presentation was released in 2011 to mark Caron's 100 Year Anniversary of the launch of Narcisse Noir. The edition is the familiar squat Baccarat flacon with the black glass floral molded stopper, housed in a replica of the original 1922 black satin covered box with the Paul Poiret styled image on the top of the lid.

Harper's Bazaar, 1958:

"ONCE AGAIN LIGHTLY: Devotees of Caron's "Narcisse Noir" can now rejoice over a lightened version of the fragrance. The very same pungent tropical flowers of the perfume have been distilled into a crystal clear body lotion."