Mary Chess (December 27, 1878 – January 12, 1964) was an American
perfumer
A perfumer is an expert on creating perfume compositions, sometimes referred to affectionately as a ''nose'' (French: ''nez'') due to their fine sense of smell and skill in producing olfactory compositions. The perfumer is effectively an artist w ...
who made fragrances using all natural ingredients. Her company, the eponymous Mary Chess, was owned by Henri Garceau.
Biographical information
Mary Grace Chess was born in
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana borde ...
, the daughter of William E. Chess, who owned a local cordage mill. In 1907 she married
Avery Robinson
Avery Robinson (January 21, 1878 – May 11, 1965 ) was an American classical composer who worked with, among others, Roland Hayes and Paul Robeson.
Biography
Avery Robinson was born on January 21, 1878, in Louisville, Kentucky. His father was ...
, also from Louisville and son of another Louisville mill owner, who had worked for her father after graduating from
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
. In 1920 Chess and Robinson left for London where Robinson was employed as treasurer to the
Royal Philharmonic Society
The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a mem ...
.
In London she became famous for her sculpted metal flowers which she sold to the Queen Mother. She founded the Mary Chess Company in 1932.
While in London Chess sent her daughter Carley to study with
Nadia Boulanger
Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist.
From a ...
, despite the composer's pessimistic assessment of the girl's aptitude for music.
In the end Carley did not pursue a musical career but instead became a writer of children's books.
Chess died in
Pittsfield
Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield� ...
, Massachusetts on January 12, 1964, at the age of 85.
Perfumes
Mary Chess started making perfumes in New York in 1932 after she was disappointed by the insipid aroma of a bottle of toilet water.
"She created all her perfumes herself, using natural ingredients."
By 1934 the Mary Chess name was becoming a proxy for fine women's perfume.
Mary created many perfumes, of which arguably the most famous is Tapestry.
Probably incomplete perfume list:
* 1932 White Lilac
* 1932 Heliotrope
* 1932 Gardenia
* 1932 Desert Verbena
* 1933 Chessmen
* 1934 Tapestry
* 1934 Yram
* 1935 Floral Odeurs
* 1939 Carnation
* 1941 Elizabethan
* 1942 Strategy
* 1946 Song
* 1956 Souvenir D'un Soir
* 1958 Chivalry
* 1960 Tuileries
* Unknown - Chess D'or
Just after World War II and continuing into the 1960s, a selection of Mary Chess perfumes was sold in glass bottles shaped like chess pieces.
Though expensive,
these sets proved popular.
The Wheaton Glass Company of
Millville, New Jersey
Millville is a city in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the city's population was 28,400,