Fragrance house

Richard Hudnut

Richard Hudnut began selling perfumes in 1880 from his father Alexander Hudnut’s New York pharmacy; his own pharmacy opened later, in 1899. After visiting Paris, he reshaped the family drugstore into a luxury shop for French-style perfumes and cosmetics, establishing an early New York–Paris identity. The range soon extended beyond perfume to toilet waters, colognes, sachets, hair preparations, soaps, powders, creams, and other cosmetics, with products sold across the United States by 1900. Hudnut sold a substantial interest in 1916 and retired, after which the company operated under Warner-linked ownership. In the 1920s, the business introduced Deauville in 1923 and developed it across perfume, eau de toilette, powders, bath products, compacts, and lipsticks. Violet Sec is the clearest documented fragrance legacy: its scent appeared across perfume and toilet water as well as creams, powders, sachets, bath salts, soap, and other beauty products. Pfizer acquired Warner-Lambert in 2000, bringing its consumer product lines into Pfizer.