1903.

I was browsing in a Paris antique shop one winter afternoon when a fitted leather train case caught my eye.

It contained silver-handled brushes, boot hooks, a straight razor, several silver-stoppered glass bottles…

One bottle was different. Encased in yew-wood, with a handwritten date: 1903.

Inside the bottle, there was still the faint, intriguing aroma of a gentleman's cologne. A “prescription” cologne, custom-made for a rich traveler a century ago.

Curiosity was eating at me.

I bought the case (the price was shocking) and sent the bottle to a laboratory for analysis. They broke down the residue by gas chromatography. Identified its fingerprint through spectro-photometry.
The report said: an “old woody fougère.” Clean citrus notes, bergamot, “green notes.” The middle notes: clary sage…cardamom. The dry-down: leather notes, smoky labdanum…elemi, tabac, frankincense.

The detective work was impressive.

So is the thing itself.

Women like the way it smells on a man. Like a symphony that begins loudly, then soon slides into subtle, entangling developments that grow on them.

Or so I've been told.

1903 Spray Cologne (N^o. 1401) in travel-size spray bottle with a clean Edwardian look; toss into briefcase or overnight bag along with emergency flask of favorite unblended scotch. 3.4 fl. oz., 100 ml. Price: $45.

1903 After Shave Balm (N^o. 1402). Men have shaved for millennia, only recently learning how to keep it from hurting sensitive skin. After shave balm. Mine is non-greasy (absorbs readily), with Witch Hazel, Aloe Vera, and Comfrey. Apply tiny amount to fingertips, smooth over face and neck…ah, feels much better. 3.4 fl. oz., 100 ml. Price: $45.