A little bottle of history: The battle of 4711
Well hello there! Thanks for dropping by, you caught me doing a little research. There’s little more exciting to me when I have a new vintage item to add to the shop than to discover the history of that item (my Instagram hashtag #allvintagehasastory is proof enough!). And boy, this week I had a really juicy one!
Have you ever noticed how some bottles German No 4711 Eau De Cologne sometimes reads ‘Made in England’ and some ‘Cologne on Rhine’ or similar?
I was adding this delightful boxed bottle of 4711 dating circa the 1950s - indicated by the beautifully illustrated turquoise floral and ribbon Christmas paper and crosshatched interior pattern reminiscent of mid-century melamine tabletops - and then I saw it.
‘Made in England’. It seemed odd, given that everything about the 4711 brand says “I’m German”. Then I remembered something. Long ago when I first acquired this little treasure I remember reading something about disruption to the distribution of 4711 during the war. Alas, I can no longer find the article anywhere on the whole interweb, so I did a little digging. Here’s what I learned…
In 1953 there was a legal battle over of 4711. Now I’m no lawyer and all the sources I could find on the subject are written in legal gumph and jargon-galore, (so if you are a legal genius please feel free to jump in and correct me)… from what I can make out history went something like this:
4711 is a traditional German Eau de Cologne created by Wilhelm Mühlens. The 4711 fragrance Echt Kölnisch Wasser has been made to the same recipe for more than 200 years. The brand was named after the house number of the headquarters in Cologne, Germany.
Prior to 1939 4711 sold products within the UK through R. J. Reuter Coy LD (Let’s call them ‘Reuter’), a subsidiary company in the UK who shipped in the fragrance or secret formula parts of it from Germany for sale to customers in the UK.
And then along came WWII.
The second world war started and due to the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1939, the UK factory ceased trading with Mühlens. It seems that in British law, right to assets or property of enemies during war were transferred to the victor, so the factory in the UK and its contents were considered ‘war loot’ by Custodian of Enemy Property and they continued to sell 4711 goods still in their possession, and went on to sell it labelled as ‘Made in England’.
Meanwhile, No 4711, the headquarters was destroyed in the 1943 bombing of Cologne. By the 1950s Mühlens were back on their feet with a brand new 4711 headquarters building. Upon noticing what was going on in the UK the new head of 4711 sent a letter to Reuter saying 'that his was the only genuine "4711" Eau De Cologne - in 4711 a branded envelope.
In 1953 Reuter sued Mühlens for using 4711 branded envelopes in which he sent that letter. Mühlens countersued Reuter for misrepresenting goods. The conclusion of the case I am yet to fathom, DUN DUN …when I do I shall update this post. Whoever knew opening a 70-year-old box of fragrance would unearth such courtroom drama?
Do you know more of the story? Tell us in a comment
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Sources: watermark.silverchair.com, Wikidpedia, smallflower.com