1 / 13
Avon American Eagle Decanter — Oland After Shave, Circa 1973–1975, Original Box
Price in USD. Shipping is $10.95 to the contiguous US — see our Shipping Policy.
- Maker: Avon Products, Inc.
- Era: Circa 1973–1975
- Contents: Oland after shave, approximately half-full (original)
- Construction: Heavy amber glass body, gold-plastic eagle-head cap
- Size: 5 fl. oz. — approx. 6¼" tall
- Includes: Original Avon presentation box
- Provenance: Estate find, Lexington, North Carolina
Avon American Eagle Decanter — Oland After Shave, Circa 1973–1975, Original Box
Circa 1973–1975
Americana Figural Decanter
Avon's figural decanter program ran from the late 1960s through the early 1980s, producing hundreds of molded glass shapes filled with men's after shave and cologne. The American Eagle — issued from 1973 through 1975 — was its most explicit piece of Americana. A heavy amber glass body, the bird's folded wings and feathered breast cast in sharp relief, topped with a gold-plastic eagle-head cap turned in profile. Inside went Oland after shave, Avon's leathery, smoky, spicy answer to Aramis. Avon was founded in 1886 by David H. McConnell as the California Perfume Company, and by the mid-1970s its door-to-door catalog was the most distinctively American consumer brand operating at scale in the country.
This eagle was made and sold during the run-up to the 1976 Bicentennial, when American brands were leaning into the country's 200th in earnest. In 2026, with America's 250th and Avon's 140th arriving in the same year, an explicitly patriotic Avon piece holds both anniversaries at once. This one comes from a household in Lexington, North Carolina — the same estate that yielded our Buffalo Nickel decanter. Bottle is about half-full of the original Oland; loss appears to be evaporation rather than use. Original presentation box is included.
Specifications
- Dimensions
- 9 × 8 × 6 in
- Weight
- 2 lbs
- SKU
- HABC-VR-0004
The Find
Avon's figural decanter program ran from the late 1960s through the early 1980s, and the American Eagle — issued 1973 through 1975 — sits near the top of the line for sheer iconography. Heavy amber glass body molded with the eagle's folded wings and feathered breast in crisp relief, finished with a gold-plastic eagle-head cap turned in profile. The whole piece reads from across a room: this is a bird, and this is America. Inside, the original Oland after shave — Avon's leathery, smoky, spicy answer to Aramis. The bottle is about half-full. Owner believes the loss is evaporation over fifty years rather than actual use, but we haven't opened it to confirm. The original Avon presentation box came with the piece and is included.Two Anniversaries, One Eagle
2026 is America's 250th and Avon's 140th. The American Eagle decanter is the most explicit Americana piece Avon ever produced — not subtly patriotic, not metaphorical, just an eagle. It was made and sold during the run-up to the 1976 Bicentennial, when American consumer brands were leaning into the country's 200th in earnest, and Avon (founded 1886 by David H. McConnell as the California Perfume Company) leaned in harder than most. A figural decanter program that produced Buffalo Nickels, Liberty Bells, Benjamin Franklins, and a literal eagle was about as American as door-to-door cosmetics could get. This one comes from the same Lexington, North Carolina estate that yielded our Buffalo Nickel decanter — a mid-Atlantic household that bought the figurals when they were new, kept the boxes, and stored them well.Details
- Maker: Avon Products, Inc., New York, NY
- Era: Circa 1973–1975
- Contents: Oland after shave (original) — bottle is approximately half-full
- Construction: Heavy amber glass body with molded relief, gold-plastic eagle-head cap (screw-on)
- Size: 5 fl. oz. capacity — approximately 6¼" tall, 3½" at widest
- Original packaging: Avon presentation box, included
- Provenance: Estate find from Lexington, North Carolina
