Caswell-Massey: America's Oldest Apothecary

In a world where everything seems to change in a blink of an eye, and we complain that old-time values have vanished, it's nice to know that some things do stay the same and haven't dramatically changed over the years. Take for instance, Caswell-Massey, which has the distinction of being one of the oldest apothecaries in America, and can be considered a part of American history itself.

When Dr. William Hunter opened his store, naming it Dr. Hunter's Dispensary, in 1752 in Newport, Rhode Island, the store was originally intended in providing natural forms of medicines for midwives. He then expanded to not only include imported fragrance items from Europe, but also began experimenting and creating his own line of unique fragrances. The most famous of his fragrances was called Number Six Cologne, which was an ingenious blending of about thirty different botanicals including orange peel, orange blossoms, rosemary, cloves, bergamot and pine, giving the cologne a unique spicy and refreshing scent. The scent became so popular that George Washington himself sent two cases of the fragrance to Marquis de Lafayette. To this day, some 250 years later, Number Six still remains a big seller under the Caswell-Massey label.

Dr. Hunter remained owner of his shop until after the Revolutionary War, where unfortunately, due to his pro-Loyalist status had to leave the area but not before handing the store over to a successor, a trend that would continue for about 150 years. It wasn't until 1833, however, that besides the Rhode Island shop, a Manhattan branch opened, being named Caswell & Hazard Company, both shops being owned then by John Rose Caswell. In 1876 a partnership between Caswell and William Massey began, and the shops were renamed to the familiar Caswell-Massey that we still know today. While the original store in Rhode Island closed in 1906, a total of ten branches of Caswell-Massey were to open during the following years, until the advent of the Great Depression where all but one store closed. To this day the one remaining store, located at 48th Street and Lexington Avenue has been in operation since 1926.

I myself have been privileged to have gone to Caswell-Massey myself in the past, and the experience is one to truly fill the olfactory senses with sheer delight. Picture in your mind entering a store, where one is pleasantly greeted by the wonderful scents of jasmine, sandalwood, patchouli, rose, gardenia, lilac, English Lavender, strawberries, lemon verbena and even cucumbers; just to name a few of the trademark scents that have been used for centuries by Caswell-Massey in creating soaps, lotions, perfumes, colognes. The array of products one can get at Caswell-Massey is nothing less than dizzying. One wants to get a little bit of everything there. And for those who can't quite make up their minds exactly what they want to get, Caswell-Massey does sell gift baskets that contain a little sampling of their various products. There are products that are sold that are uniquely just for women, especially in the fragrance, soaps and lotions line, and products geared only for men, including a large selection of old-time type shaving kits complete with razors and shaving brushes.

Caswell-Massey has always had the distinction also of selling a fine selection of pure essential oils, from Almond Oil to Ylang Ylang, and each 1/4 oz. bottle ranges on average from $6.00 to about $12.00, with the pure Frankincense Oil being the most expensive at $20.00.

The real beauty about every single one of Caswell-Massey products is that not only are they all made with completely natural ingredients, but none of their products have ever been tested on animals, a great plus for those consumers who are conscientious about refraining from using products that are tested on animals.

The best news of all is that one no longer has to live in New York, or in any of the other store locations now found in major US cities, to take advantage of buying Caswell-Massey products. One can go to their website at http://www.caswellmassey.com/ and order directly on-line, and can even request a catalog from them. For up-dates on specials sales particularly around holiday time, one can also sign up for their newsletter.

So I invite you, to go to the Caswell-Massey website, browse amongst the hundreds of delightful products one can get there, and by doing so, you will be stepping back into time where their products haven't changed and have remained the same since it's founding in 1752.

History of Caswell-Massey:

http://www.answers.com/topic/caswell-massey-co-ltd?cat=biz-fin

The Caswell-Massey Website itself also gives an informative history of its store:

http://www.caswellmassey.com/