"Cocktail bar" perfume set sold by House of Patou, on display as part of the "Jazz Age" exhibit at the Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States.

Jean Patou (1880-1936) was born in Normandy, France, into a family of tanners and furriers. He worked as an apprentice for his uncle, gaining knowledge about how fur was tanned, worked, shaved, and modified to make fine clothing. He moved to Paris in 1910, and in 1912 opened a small dressmaking shop ("Maison Parry"). Immediately popular, his work was interrupted by World War I when he was drafted into the French Army. Reopening his shop in 1919, he rejected the then-popular flapper look. Instead, he focused on long skirts, sportswear, and cardigans. He is considered the inventor of knitted swimwear, the tennis skirt, and the designer tie. In 1925, Patou began making perfume and expanded into suntan lotion in 1928. His fashion business collapsed during the Great Depression, but he survived by making perfume. After Patou's death, the House of Patou was run by his sister. The House of Patou was purchased by Proctor & Gamble in 2001, and sold to Designer Parfums Ltd in 2011.

In 1928, Patou perfurmier Henri Almeras created three perfumes for House of Patou. All three were based on the "cocktail culture" which had become so popular in the 1920s. The three scents were Cocktail Sweet, Cocktail Dry, and Cocktail Bitter Sweet.

Initially, the three perfurmes were sold separately. They could be purchased in rectangular luxury Baccarat bottles, or cheaper glass bottles with sloped shoulders. All carried the "JP" logo engraved on their long, paddle-shaped stoppers. A third, sloped bottle was used at display counters and featured a horizontal, flat stopper.

In 1930, Patou conceived of a "cocktail minibar" presentation case for his scents. The design of the presentation case was by Raymond Barbas. "Le grand bar" was a semicircular case whose interior spun around to reveal the contents. The case was made of Bakelite (plastic) made to look like Loupe d'Amboine wood. (Bakelite was new and fascinating to the public, and a great many luxury items were made of it.)

Baccarat used its slope design for the bottles, and created a new stopper consisting of a crystal globe surrounded by a thick wreath. There were four bottles, one for each Patou scent and a fourth, lableled "My Own Cocktail", which was empty.

Verreries Brosse manufactured the seven "cocktail bottles". These were V-shaped glass bottles, each of which slipped into a rack with a paper label on the front. These bottles were stoppered with a cork-and-chrome bullet-shaped top. The overall effect of bottle and rack was to mimic the Baccarat design of the Patou scents.

Each "cocktail bottle" was labeled "Angostura" and given a Roman numeral from one to seven. Scents in these bottles consisted of essential oils like opoponax, sandalwood, jasmine, and incense.

The scents could be mixed into on the skin or in the "My Own Cocktail" bottle, much as one would mix a cocktail itself.

Two swing-out drawers contained blotters titled "Jean Patou", onto which one could write the "formulae" for scents. The case also came with two small pencils, seven pipettes, and a graduated cylinder.

In addition to "Le grand bar" (seen here), there were two smaller presentations -- "Le petit bar", and "Le baby bar". The "petit" bar came in a rectangular carrying case with a flip-down front. It had just two Patou scents (Sweet and Dry), but carried the full seven Angostura oils. "Le baby bar" was similar but smaller. It contained three inexpensive bottles of Patou scent, but no Angostura essential oils.

1. CMAJazzAge