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Avon George Washington Tribute Aftershave Decanter — Clear Glass with Eagle Finial & Original Box (1970–1972)

$18.00 Only one available

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1970s Crystal / Glass Very Good
HABC-VR-0006
Avon's clear-glass tribute to the first president, made between 1970 and 1972 and originally filled with four ounces of Tribute aftershave. Washington's portrait sits in a printed oval cartouche on the front face — embossed stars at the four corners — and a brass-tone sphere capped with a gilt eagle crowns the bottle like the finial of a flagpole. The original red-white-and-blue presentation box is included, dressed in stars and stripes with the Great Seal centered on the panel, and the original aftershave is still inside the bottle, very nearly full.

Highlights

  • Clear pressed-glass body with embossed star at each corner of both faces
  • Printed Washington portrait cartouche centered on the front, second portrait visible through the glass on the reverse
  • Brass-tone metal sphere cap topped with a gilt eagle finial
  • Original Avon box included — bunting graphics, Great Seal panel, full descriptive text on the reverse
  • Bottle is approximately full of the original Tribute aftershave (sold as a decorative collectible)

Details

  • Maker: Avon Products, Inc., New York, NY
  • Year: 1970–1972
  • Original contents: 4 fl oz Avon Tribute Aftershave
  • Approx. 5.5" tall × 3" wide × 2" deep
  • Includes original illustrated Avon presentation box
Condition: Bottle is excellent — clear glass with no chips or cracks, embossed stars sharp, both portrait cartouches bright and well-registered, eagle finial intact and seated correctly. The original aftershave is still inside, near the fill line, and the cap remains tight. The original box shows honest shelf wear after fifty-plus years — softening at the corners, light scuffs along the side panels, small edge tears at the seams — but all four panels are intact and the graphics, including the full descriptive panel about Washington on the reverse, read cleanly.
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Avon George Washington Tribute Aftershave Decanter — Clear Glass with Eagle Finial & Original Box (1970–1972)

1970–1972

Bicentennial-Era Avon Figural Decanter

Avon launched its figural decanter program in the late 1960s and ran it hard through the early 1980s, packaging men's aftershave inside hundreds of molded glass shapes — animals, automobiles, ships, founding fathers. The patriotic series of the early '70s was its most quietly ambitious moment, and the George Washington Tribute, made between 1970 and 1972, sits squarely inside it. Four fluid ounces of Tribute aftershave were poured into a clear pressed-glass bottle stamped with embossed corner stars and printed on both faces with Gilbert Stuart's familiar Washington likeness. The cap was a brass-tone metal sphere finished with a gilt eagle finial, posed like the topper of a courthouse flagpole.

This piece arrived from a Lexington, North Carolina estate, the same collection that yielded our Buffalo Nickel and American Eagle decanters. It comes with its original presentation box — stars-and-stripes side panels, a gold Great Seal medallion centered on the front, and a full descriptive Avon text panel on the reverse honoring Washington as 'the first President of the United States of America.' 2026 is America's 250th and Avon's 140th, and a tribute to the country's first founder, made when its bicentennial was still on the horizon, is exactly the kind of small domestic Americana those two anniversaries were built for.

Materials Clear pressed glass body with embossed star corners and printed dual-sided Washington portrait cartouche; brass-tone metal sphere cap topped with gilt eagle finial.
Care Display indoors away from direct sunlight to preserve the printed portraits. Dust the glass with a soft dry cloth. Keep the original aftershave sealed; do not refrigerate or freeze the bottle.
From the Research Archives
vintagerose.us Catalog No. HABC-VR-0006 • May 2026

Specifications

Dimensions
11 × 8 × 6 in
Weight
2 lbs
SKU
HABC-VR-0006

The Find

Avon's figural decanter program ran from the late 1960s through the early 1980s, and the early-'70s patriotic series — Lincoln, Washington, the Capitol Building, the Liberty Bell — was its most quietly ambitious moment. Aftershave was the gift you bought your father; a tribute to the first president was the wrapper Avon chose to put it in. This is the George Washington Tribute issue, made 1970 through 1972, and four fluid ounces of the original Tribute aftershave are still inside. The body is clear pressed glass, rectangular, with an embossed star at each of the four corners on both the front and reverse faces. Centered on the front, a printed oval cartouche carries Washington's portrait — the familiar Gilbert Stuart likeness, rendered in soft sepia and indigo — and a second portrait sits on the reverse, so the piece reads from either direction. The cap is a brass-tone metal sphere topped with a gilt eagle, wings spread, posed exactly as a flagpole finial would be. It catches light beautifully on a shelf.

Two Anniversaries, One Founder

2026 is America's 250th and Avon's 140th. By the time the George Washington Tribute reached suburban doorsteps in 1970, the country was four years into the run-up to its Bicentennial and brands were beginning, gently, to lean in. Avon (founded 1886 by David H. McConnell as the California Perfume Company) had been mass-producing figural bottles since the late 1960s, and their patriotic series was a natural fit for the moment — the kind of small, gift-shaped object that lived on a thousand bathroom shelves and got saved, boxed, often unopened, for fifty years and counting. This one came through with its original presentation box and its original contents intact.

Details

  • Maker: Avon Products, Inc., New York, NY
  • Year: 1970–1972 (Tribute aftershave issue)
  • Material: Clear pressed glass body, brass-tone metal sphere cap with gilt eagle finial
  • Size: Approximately 5.5" tall × 3" wide × 2" deep
  • Original contents: 4 fl oz Avon Tribute Aftershave (still inside, near fill line)
  • Packaging: Original illustrated Avon presentation box, included

Condition

The bottle itself is in excellent condition. The clear glass is bright with no chips, cracks, or clouding; the embossed stars at the corners are crisp; both printed Washington portraits are bright and well-registered, with no rubbing or fade. The brass-tone sphere cap is intact and seated correctly, and the gilt eagle finial is firmly mounted. The bottle is approximately full of the original Tribute aftershave; we have not opened it. The original box shows honest shelf wear consistent with fifty-plus years of household storage. The corners are softened, there are light scuffs along the red-and-white side panels, and there are small edge tears at a few seams. All four panels are intact and structurally sound — the stars-and-stripes graphics, the gold Great Seal medallion, and the full Avon descriptive panel on the reverse (which reads "GEORGE WASHINGTON / The first President of the United States of America. Called the 'Father of His Country.'...") all read cleanly.

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