ของสะสม: Woods of Windsor

Woods of Windsor began as a small apothecary opened in 1770 in the shadow of Windsor Castle, in Berkshire, England, supplying the townspeople of Windsor, the Royal Family and its visitors. Two and a half centuries later the name is a specialist in single-flower English florals — lily of the valley, rose, lavender, jasmine — sold as parfum de toilette, eau de toilette, soaps and dusting powders.

The house changed hands twice in the 2000s: parent company Disperse Group went into administration on 1 February 2007 and Lornamead bought the brand's rights, assets and inventory; in 2010 both Yardley London and Woods of Windsor were relaunched with new packaging; and in 2012 Wipro Consumer Care acquired Yardley's UK and European business along with Woods of Windsor. That timeline is the key to dating a bottle: the cream packaging with the thin green border and botanical lily-of-the-valley artwork predates the 2010 relaunch, and the 100 ml Parfum de Toilette in that livery is no longer produced.

Every bottle in this collection is checked against the object itself rather than the resale listing title, because Woods of Windsor florals are routinely mislabelled as Crabtree & Evelyn. The authentic vintage bottle carries parfum de toilette and muguet des bois on the label, © Woods of Windsor 2001 with the Queen Charlotte Street, Windsor address and MADE IN ENGLAND printed on the glass, and the crest line WOODS of WINDSOR — ESTABLISHED 1770 moulded below the label. Japanese importer stickers are normal on 2000s export stock.