___________________________________________________________________________________________

Perfume Service Company perfume vendor

Perfume Service Co., Kansas City, c. 1920's, 18 ¹/₄". Silent Salesmen Too calls this an "art deco styled machine." It's styled quite nicely, but it ain't art deco. The bottom decal on the front says that Perfume Service Company was located in Kansas City, but doesn't say which one.

The machine is made of thick sheet metal. The customer inserts a coin and pulls the lever forward on the bottom right side of the base. The machine has 2 coin slots on the top of the front ledge halfway up the machine; one takes a nickel and activates the left atomizer and the other takes a dime and activates the right atomizer. The right atomizer squirted Black Narcissus, so I assume that was a higher-end perfume than was the Djer-Kiss dispensed by the left atomizer. I also assume that ladies of the 20's and 30's knew that, although the men of that era probably didn't know that any better than the men of today know their perfumes.

This is the only model made by this company that's listed in Silent Salesmen Too, and I don't know of another that's not listed. It's not rare, but it's not an easy find. Most that I've seen are in decent shape, although the decals may be less than perfect.

The example above is 100% original and is in good condition. The paint condition overall is good, but the decals' condition is great. Take the decals away and this is a much plainer machine---the decals really bring this to life.