A match made in heaven
By Kristina Braga
Have you ever found something while beachcombing or mudlarking and knew it was kismet, or fate? Maybe you found a broken piece of pottery, and then months later, found the missing piece or pieces? Well, I definitely believe in kismet.
A while back, I found a figural glass bottle on the beach and brought it home to try to identify it. The shape of the bottle reminded me of an old oil lamp and, due to its small size, I suspected that it was most likely a perfume bottle. I tried googling “vintage glass oil lamp perfume bottle,” but didn’t find a match. I resigned myself to the fact that its ID would remain a mystery.
Seven months after finding the bottle, I pulled an ornate red floral plastic topper out of the water. The fact that it was plastic and not glass didn’t lessen its beauty in my eyes. The topper was so unique-looking that I decided to use Google Lens to see if I could find a match. Sure enough, many exact matches for this topper appeared, along with the actual bottles. The topper belongs to a women’s cologne bottle by Lander and most likely contained a fragrance called “Apple Blossom.” Many of the sites I looked at listed Lander as the manufacturer, so I then searched online for “Lander.” Surprisingly, several different companies use the name “Lander,” so I narrowed my search to “Lander perfume company.” I was able to pull up specific information on the company that made the bottle.
Lander Co., Inc., a U.S. company, was founded by Charles H. Oestreich and two partners in 1920. The company was known for manufacturing and distributing quality health and beauty products at an affordable price, since the world was still suffering the economic hardships of the Great Depression. During the 1930s and 1940s, Lander aggressively promoted its fragrances, including “Apple Blossom” cologne, which debuted in the 1940s. These fragrances were sold in five-and-dime stores like Woolworth’s and G.C. Murphy Co. Many of Lander’s products were inspired by French fragrances and were beautifully packaged using decorative bottles.
Peman Style
After carefully looking at the photographs of the complete bottles online, I recognized that the vintage glass bottle I found earlier was a match to the red plastic topper! Lander sold several different shaped bottles using the same floral topper. The toppers also came in a variety of colors in addition to red, such as blue, yellow, and green. I still can’t believe it. I’m thrilled to have the complete bottle with topper. I can only describe this as kismet!
All photos courtesy of Kristina Braga except as marked.
This article appeared in Beachcombing Magazine Volume 51 November/December 2025.
