HOUBIGANT (Paris) - Rare lithographed perfume card circa 1900, signed MUCHA. Excellent condition (still perfumed), very good colours, has kept all its golds. Printer: "imp. F.Champenois. -Paris". 11 x 6.5 cm. "...the ideal perfume, Ophelia powder, royal fern soap...". Paris 1775. Jean-François Houbigant opened his shop "A la Corbeille de Fleurs" on rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. Houbigant perfumes were favoured by the royal families and nobility of Europe, including Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France and wife of Louis XVI. In 1838, the French company became licensed perfumer to Her Majesty Queen Victoria of England. Tsar Alexander III appointed Houbigant perfumer to the Imperial Court of Russia. In 1880, the perfumer Paul Parquet took over the running of the company, which is still operating under family management in Grasse. (Source: houbigan-parfum.com)