MINT Roger et & Gallet Lalique aluminum powder box RARE 1920’s Fleurs dAmour Poudre de Riz Blanche Paris Start Price USD 1,000.00 Current Price USD 1,000.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Tuesday, September 23, 2008 End Time Sunday, November 23, 2008 Location Beautiful SW Virginia See more about 'MINT Roger et & Gallet Lalique aluminum powder box ' Description Place a generous bid on this lovely estate collectible. You are looking at a RARE opportunity to own a priceless piece of the history of the cosmetics industry. In the early 1900’s Francois Coty, a Corsican peasant moved to Paris and decided to become the first producer of perfume and toilette specialties to attempt to appeal to a mass market, particularly the market in America. In 1908, he began a collaboration with Rene Lalique, a French jewelry designer, to produce perfume bottles and cosmetic packaging that would appeal to a mass market and be affordable to consumers other than royalty and the elite. Lalique was a renowned jeweler and had worked in metal as a jewelry designer. He was among the first, as early as 1899, to make use of aluminum in jewelry design. He created an aluminum tiara for an actress in La Comedie Francaise that has endured the ages and has been displayed in the Carnegie Museum. Because of his collaboration with Coty, Lalique became more interested in glass design than jewelry design, and we can all appreciate the happy result of his change of focus, but glass was not his only artistic medium. Between WWI and WWII, during the beginnings of the machine age, it became possible to use aluminum for packaging in mass production. Aluminum was a wonderful new metal – strong and lightweight, fairly soft, very malleable and moldable. It had silver-like qualities without the tarnish, but the softness also proved to be its downfall, making those early gorgeous and intricately designed boxes extremely hard to find now in mint condition. Lalique had created such success for Coty’s marketing efforts that he expanded his perfume bottle and other packaging designs for mass production to include such early and famous names in the French perfume and cosmetics industry as D’Orsay, Guerlain, Houbigant, Worth, and Roger et Gallet. In the early 1920’s, Lalique designed this wonderful powder box for Roger et Gallet from aluminum. The design on top features two lovely birds of paradise in an intricate Art Nouveau spread-wing arrangement. These birds are also featured in the packaging and marketing for the famous Roger et Gallet fragrance "Le Jade". Early packaging, such as this auction item were produced differently for different markets. For the French market, the items used the word "et" in Roger et Gallet. Other items produced for the U.S. market used the "&" as in "Roger & Gallet". Also, the color of the background behind the birds is quite variable depending on the year of production and the market. I have seen very orange backgrounds to very pale yellow backgrounds. You can see examples of this powder box on page 268 of Laura Mueller’s Collector’s Encyclopedia of compacts, Vol. I with a fairly dark orange background and on page 278 of her Volume II encyclopedia with backgrounds ranging from faint yellow gold to terra-cotta to orange. Also, the signature is sometimes "Lalique" on lid top and sometimes "R. Lalique" on the reverse. This box has "LALIQUE" on the lid top and the background is terra cotta in color – more gold than orange. The outer paper wrap as well as the bottom of the box use the French "et" instead of the American "&". The outer paper wrap is in excellent condition with a couple of minor breaches at the end that has been opened. The absolutely pristine aluminum box is presented in an inner folded but not glued protective cardboard box with attached brown silk cord for opening. And the piece de resistance is the unbroken paper covering over the powder, complete with heavy foil vignette seal, also designed by Lalique. These little seals can only be found intact on unused product. The vignette and the little loose paper product identification label use the "&" sign in Roger & Gallet. I purchased this box in the early days of Ebay in a "buy-it-now" auction. I have only had it open twice since purchasing – once when it arrived and again now that I am reluctantly ready to give it up. No puff is included. You are bidding on an item that I have researched and lovingly acquired and that I part with sadly. I have made every effort to make an accurate description. If you collect powder boxes, Lalique, Roger et Gallet, early aluminum, early machine age items, Art Nouveau, or just beautiful examples of functional art, this is one for you!  If you need additional photos of any particular feature, just let me know. FREE SHIPPING including insurance!!! Thanks for looking, Happy Bidding, Good Luck, and GOD BLESS AMERICA!!! If you are watching this lovely item and waiting for me to reduce the price, you should not hold your breath.  I know the value.  If I do not receive a significant offer within thirty days (from 10/22/08) I will remove this item from eBay and put with the other valuables I am leaving to my children, together with the history and provinance.  This powder box will only accumulate value with age, so I will be leaving them a significant inheritance.  If you are interested now, make an offer worthy of consideration, and it will be considered.  Otherwise, this beauty will vanish until the next generation tackles eBay. Place a Bid!