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Bull's Head Perfume Machine

Continental Novelty Co., Buffalo, NY, c. 1908, 13 ¹/₄". This model is so strange that I don't know how the idea for it was ever born. It was obviously intended for women, not he-man manly rodeo riders who could identify with livestock, and it's hard to understand why a company thought it would appeal to women. I'll bet it was a topic of conservation in women's restrooms, but I doubt anyone was attracted by it. I don't know how many were sold so my opinion may be way off, but they're scarce in the collecting world so my guess is it wasn't entirely successful.

You put a penny in the coin slot and then pull one of the horns down, and perfume spritzes from the end of the bull's tongue. The sign suggests that the spritz should be caught by a handkerchief, although I don't know why that would be the preferred target. Was the woman then supposed to swab her neck or wrists with the scented cloth, or just stuff it inside her purse and let the fragrance waft forth from those confines to create a subtle yet powerful bouquet around her? I don't know; I identify more with the he-man manly man that's not the target customer base for this machine, although I've never ridden in a rodeo (but I once attended one) and don't identify with livestock (although I did think Arnold the Pig was cute).

(SIDE NOTE: After writing the paragraph above, I went to the web to see what the purpose of scented handkerchiefs was, and was surprised to find multiple pages on the subject. See here, here, here, and here for four of them. Apparently this is still a thing with some people. The point of the scented handkerchief is not to swab down a body part with it, but to have it available as a type of aromatherapy, to lift one's spirits in times of need. It's also a sign of refinement. The scented handkerchief is not a means to an end, it's the end! I'll now be on the lookout for a handkerchief vendor to fill a gap I didn't know I had in my collection.).

Several variations of bull's head perfume vendors are shown in Silent Salesmen Too, on page 257 (Worth & Martin Co., c. 1902) and on page 253 (Bull Novelty Co., c. 1905; and Continental Novelty Co., c. 1908). The one shown above is the version by Continental, so it's the last in that series. Continental was a short-lived company, in business only in 1908 and 1909. The Worth & Martin versions were Canadian, while the Bull Novelty Co. and Continental versions were US-based. These three companies and their models were all related in a way that's nicely described on page 257 of Silent Salesmen Too. The Continental version is the only one with advertising in the circle; the other companies' vendors had mirrors.

The example shown above is 100% original except the cast-iron plate that attaches to the wall and locks the bull's head into place. I bought it at the November 2022 Chicagoland show. I'd always been intrigued by this model 'cause it's so weird, but this was the first nice example I had the chance to buy at a reasonable price (and by "reasonable," I don't mean cheap, I mean reasonable). I was talking to a friend on Friday morning at the show, standing with my back to a seller's table. Our topic of conversation at the moment was figural machines, and I was explaining to him that I'd learned over the years that they don't interest me much. As I was saying this, I saw him glance over my shoulder at the seller's table and raise his eyebrows, then look back at me. I turned to see what had prompted that reaction, and saw the seller setting the above-pictured bull's head vendor down on his table. I looked back to my friend and said "excuse me," and went over to look at it....and then bought it. I literally stopped talking about my disinterest in figural machines to go buy a figural machine! I'm not a hypocrite, but I'm sometimes....confused. And fickle, but mainly confused. As of February 2025 I still have this bull's head vendor, a Smilin' Sam, a Manikin vendor, and two Nut Houses---with no plans to part with any of them---so I must not be as disinterested in figural machines as I thought I was during that Friday-morning conversation at the show.