Fragrance house

The Crown Perfumery Co

The Crown Perfumery Co was established in London in 1872 by William Sparks Thomson, an American-born businessman who had previously built a corsetry business. Its early products grew from lavender smelling salts developed for fainting clients into colognes and perfumes, with Thomson’s son, chemist William Thomson Jr., contributing to fragrance production. That year, Queen Victoria granted the company permission to use the likeness of her crown on its perfume bottles; the crown became the enduring visual emblem associated with the house. By 1879, it was exporting approximately half a million bottles of 49 different scents to 47 countries. After Thomson’s death, the company was sold to Lever Brothers in the 1920s and ceased operations in 1939. Chemist and perfume enthusiast Barry Gibson began restoring its historical formulas in 1985, and a London boutique reopened in 1993. Clive Christian acquired the Crown Perfumery in 1999 and relaunched its heritage through Clive Christian Perfume; it is now principally presented as that house’s historical predecessor and source of heritage symbolism. Crab Apple Blossom, the concentrated perfume that followed the smelling salts, marked the beginning of the company’s perfume history.