Perfume a Prohibition-Era Myster

A PROHIBITION-ERA MYSTERY

308 MINNESOTA HISTORY Thomas J. Braun resale. Pickers use their deep knowl- olfaction proved so intriguing edge of historical artifacts to identify that I could not put my investiga- treasures that others may not recog- tions aside. . . . I came to feel less n 1983 the Minnesota Historical nize. According to one of the dealers, apologetic about this seemingly Society acquired a glass container the picker had a friend working on insignificant topic of research as Iof amber-colored Lucky Lindy a demolition crew at the campus of I realized how influential smells perfume from a local antique dealer. Ancker Hospital, and when a ware- can be in our behavior and how Our primary interest in the bottle was house was being razed, 70 gallons of our ancestors put enormous store its connection to Charles Lindbergh. Nipola perfume came to light.1 in products of fragrance, going to It has been displayed at Lindbergh’s While these jugs did not have any length to procure them. They childhood home in Little Falls, along much monetary value, I felt that they ransacked nature in search of with numerous other products named must have an interesting history and beautiful and different aromas de- after the famous aviator. Thirty years a story to tell. As the senior objects spite wars, revolutions, plagues, later, in 2013, MNHS acquired two conservator at the MNHS, my charge and pestilence.2 more glass containers of perfume is to preserve the institution’s collec- from a different local dealer. One of tions and help others interpret them. I might add that I prefer to avoid these, another bottle of Lucky Lindy, I decided to try to find out what ex- nearly all scents and perfumes, which was nearly identical to the one al- actly was in those bottles in order to often seem excessive and can give ready in the collections. The other, better understand their origins and me (like many others) a headache labeled Swee-Tone, held a dark-green learn their story. or make me feel ill. I am, however, fluid. Both were manufactured by the Nipola Company of St. Paul. While a committee considered acquiring the latest bottles, several staff members WHY WOULD ANYONE BUY conducted preliminary research PERFUME IN GALLON JUGS? into the company and discovered an intriguing connection to the Prohibi- tion era: Nipola was one of numerous I began by conducting research fascinated by the organic chemistry parties indicted by a federal grand into perfume to learn how it differs behind them, as well as their history. jury in 1930, after a large, multistate from liquor. The first paragraphs The word perfume comes from the investigation into illegal uses of of Edwin T. Morris’s 1984 book, Fra- Latin words per (through) and fumum alcohol. grance, almost perfectly summarized (smoke), indicating that it probably A number of questions had im- my feelings for this topic. originated from the use of incense. mediately arisen when these two France and the United States have bottles were offered to us. Foremost, When I first became interested in been and continue to be, by far, the perhaps, was their size. Like the one the history of perfumes . . . I felt major manufacturers and consumers acquired in 1983, these glass con- embarrassed, as if I were research- of fragrance in the world. Modern tainers hold one gallon of fluid. Why ing trivia or had become the ar- perfume is commonly a mixture of would anyone buy perfume in gallon chivist of idleness. . . . For most of ethyl alcohol (the solvent or extender) jugs? Adding to our curiosity was the us, scents are not necessities; they and one or more essential oils. The report that all three bottles had been fit into the category of “frills.” . . . proportions usually cited are about 80 discovered in the 1960s behind a false But despite [my] reservations . . . percent alcohol and 20 percent essen- wall at St. Paul’s Ancker Hospital. It the subject of the aromatic plants, tial oils, though the oil content can be appears that both antique dealers had their uses and applications, higher. Eau de toilette (toilet water), acquired the bottles from another and the wizardry of the sense of typically a much thinner dilution local man, a picker—someone who seeks inexpensive antiques and other curiosities and profits from their THOMAS J. BRAUN is the senior objects conservator at the Minnesota Historical Society, where he has worked since 2000. He also serves on the board of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC), and is a regular grant reviewer for several federal agencies that support facing: Clerk at a Minneapolis perfume the preservation of the arts and humanities. counter helping a customer, about 1935.

WINTER 2015–16 309 than perfume, is about 95 percent alcohol. Eau de Cologne, intended for either men or women, is similar to eau de toilette but may contain some added glycerin. After shave, meant for use by men, often has the stron- gest scent—it is about 60 percent alcohol and 40 percent essential oil.3 The word eau (water) in the two French terms above apparently goes back to the earliest observations of distilled alcohol by thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Europeans. They were confused by the similar- ities and differences of alcohol and water, referring to alcohol as water of wine, oil of wine, or burning water. St. Paul’s Ancker Hospital campus, 1925 Alcohol crossed boundaries of the assumed order of the natural world; have recovered many glass perfume At that time, it was located southeast some thought it was a fifth essence bottles from ancient Egypt and the of downtown St. Paul, near the cur- that complemented the four other Fertile Crescent.6 rent site of the St. Paul Public Schools essences: water, air, earth, and fire.4 Historically, leather goods were Administration Building (360 Col- Since humans can detect some es- perfumed, which is not surprising; bourne Street). In 1965 the buildings sential oils at infinitesimally low con- producing leather is a smelly task, on this site were abandoned when centrations, only tiny amounts need and animal skins (and fur) readily Ancker moved to the intersection of be used in perfumes. Most people can absorb and retain scents—as do Jackson Street and University Avenue detect musk and vanilla at a parts- human skin and hair. Victorian tex- and was renamed St. Paul-Ramsey per-million or even parts-per-billion tile manufacturers quickly learned Hospital. (In 1997 it became Regions level, which is quite remarkable for that paisley cloth that did not smell of Hospital.)8 By the late 1960s the old a species not particularly known for Indian patchouli would not sell well. buildings had been torn down; during its sense of smell. Typically, water is Today, we expect to find perfume in demolition in 1967, the false ware- also added to perfumes, often simply soaps, powders, and other cosmetics. house wall was discovered hiding the to reduce the cost but also to extend Indeed, it is almost ubiquitous in 70-or-so large glass jugs of Nipola the persistence of the perfume on the many products, including detergents, perfume. skin. The amount of water is limited, cleaners, paint, rubber, plastic, paper Not much is known about the however; if it approaches 50 percent, and paper goods, diapers, and even company—except that numerous the essential oils start to fall out of cars. Scents may be added to mask an newspapers, both locally and around solution and turn the perfume milky unpleasant odor or spur a sale—and the country, reported that it was in- white—proof of the old adage that oil in those cases, manufacturers usually volved in a grand jury indictment and water do not mix.5 take great pains to keep buyers un- following a bust of a large, illegal Perfumes are almost always stored aware of the addition.7 liquor ring in February 1930, three and sold in sealed glass containers years before the end of Prohibition. to prevent the alcohol from quickly The newspapers probably shared the evaporating and the essential oils etting back to the story same source (apparently, the Chicago from degrading through exposure to behind the jugs of Nipola Herald and Examiner), as their stories excessive oxygen. In addition, some Gperfume brings us to the agree on specific names and num- essential oils can react and degrade history of the old Ancker Hospital, bers. The Minneapolis Tribune referred other materials, particularly some established in 1872. By 1923 it had to the bust as “the largest liquor types of plastic. Storing perfume in grown significantly, added a school of conspiracy since the enactment of na- glass goes all the way back to the an- nursing, and been named after its late tional prohibition.” Based in Chicago, cient Egyptians, and archaeologists superintendent, Dr. Arthur B. Ancker. the conspiracy spread its tentacles

310 MINNESOTA HISTORY nationwide, having operations in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, THE MINNEAPOLIS TRIBUNE Detroit, Cleveland, Minneapolis, St. Paul, St. Louis, and both Newark and REFERRED TO THE BUST AS “THE North Bergen, New Jersey—many of LARGEST LIQUOR CONSPIRACY which are known historic centers of organized crime. More than 150 indi- SINCE THE ENACTMENT OF viduals and over 30 corporations were NATIONAL PROHIBITION.” alleged to have been involved with the scheme. The allegations specified that about one million gallons of industrial alcohol, which was legal That day’s Tribune also reported listing for Nipola that I found was in during Prohibition for certain pur- the “overt act” that caused Nipola to 1934, and it shows only A. T. Sinykin, poses (including making perfume), be indicted in “the giant conspiracy.” president; the address is simply 518 had been illegally diverted into liquor On June 20, 1929, company president Snelling. It would appear that the in- over a seven-year period. It was esti- “Ted” Sinykin sold 5,000 gallons of dictment did not immediately cause mated that the conspiracy had netted toilet water to an M. Goldman of the Nipola to close, but shortly after Pro- more than 35 million dollars.9 Bourday Company, “assumed to be lo- hibition ended in 1933, the company On February 11, 1930, the Min- cated in Minneapolis.” While Nipola disappeared from the city directory neapolis Tribune named Anastas- held a legal permit to obtain alcohol listings.11 soff Srebren, “a Bulgarian perfume for manufacturing purposes, Gold- Various online genealogical chemist of international reputation” man did not. (Neither Bourday nor sources and the federal census reveal as the principal defendant and the Goldman showed up in a search of that Arthur Sinykin (1892–1976) was operation’s kingpin. Reportedly, he Minneapolis city directories.) married to Betty Sinykin (1900–?), had “discovered a method of extract- The earliest public record I could and they had two young children at ing essential oils from perfumes find of Nipola is in the 1927 St. Paul the time of the indictment (a third and toilet waters,” and he and his City Directory, which lists Arthur T. was born in 1931). Both were natural- co-conspirators had “for seven years Sinykin as the manager and shows ized U.S. citizens, having immigrated converted the products into drinkable the business address as 102 East Third in 1903—Arthur from Russia and liquor.” The newspaper went on to Street. The Minnesota Secretary of Betty from Romania. One potentially state that Srebren had come to the State’s records have one reference to damning record I found in the 1914 United States in 1923 as an employee the Nipola Company, indicating that it St. Paul City Directory shows Nipola’s of Joubert Cie Inc., one of the indicted filed papers to incorporate on August future president as running the Ar- New York-based firms. He appeared 10, 1928. By 1929 the St. Paul City Di- thur T. Sinykin wholesale liquor store. on the payroll of most of the 30-plus rectory lists Sinykin as president and The 1940 federal census also lists him other corporations under indictment, manager, and the business has moved as the owner of a retail liquor store. and he was usually listed as some sort to 518 North Snelling Avenue. The Clearly, Sinykin had a sincere interest of advisor to still operators. Many next year several other staff members in alcohol. When the news of the 1930 of these corporations claimed to be appear in the directory, including indictment broke, the St. Paul Pioneer cosmetic companies; allegedly, they Betty J. Sinykin (Arthur’s wife), vice Press interviewed Betty Sinykin, who received deliveries from other compa- president, and Carl E. Amenrud of professed to be “thunderstruck” at the nies that had a legal license to deal in Minneapolis, secretary and treasurer; charges. She went on to say that her industrial alcohol during Prohibition. these two and Arthur Sinykin are the husband had left several days earlier The allegations imply that these cos- three people named in the indict- for Battle Creek, Michigan, where he metic companies were simply “cover ment. The 1933 city directory entry was being treated for an unspecified houses” for distilling the products advertises, “The Nipola Company, illness. She also stated that she had into liquor. Among the other individ- Inc., Swee-Tone products and cosmet- not been active in the company for uals reported to be under indictment ics.” By that date, the business en- two years.12 were three Twin Cities residents compassed both 518 and 520 Snelling As for Nipola’s secretary-treasurer, directly affiliated with the Nipola and had acquired a telephone line the newspaper simply reported that Company.10 (Midway 8886). The last city directory Amenrud “was not available for

WINTER 2015–16 311

one’s suspicions. Fortunately, the jugs MANY OF THE UNEARTHED DETAILS retain their original labels and were packed in their original cardboard SURROUNDING THE NIPOLA COMPANY shipping boxes—all of which help us AND ITS EMPLOYEES DO NOT PASS better understand their context. The paper labels on the two containers of THE SMELL TEST. Lucky Lindy are quite small and offer little information. In fact, they are about the size of labels on today’s per- comment.” I could find very little a Carl E. Amenrud as married and fume bottles. about Carl Amenrud (ca. 1890–1968). living at 3435 Thirty-Eighth Avenue The jug of Swee-Tone, on the According to the federal census, he South, and that year’s census con- other hand, has two large paper was born in Minnesota; he may have firms his job as Nipola’s secretary- labels with copious amounts of text been from Willmar, as that city’s treasurer. By 1940 he had moved to that goes to great lengths to explain Tribune listed someone by that name Spokane, Washington, and owned a why such a large quantity of per- as a member of the Willmar Home dry-cleaning business.13 Altogether, fume might be sold. Swee-Tone is Guard in 1918, and his age at that it seems that many of the unearthed advertised as a “High Grade THEAT- time—28—matches the requirement details surrounding the Nipola Com- RICAL PERFUME” with the curious that volunteers be at least 26. The pany and its employees do not pass description “NUIT D’EGYPT ODOR” 1930 Minneapolis City Directory lists the smell test (pardon the pun), and (translated roughly from French as their timing in relation to Prohibition the odor of an Egyptian night). As facing: Swee-Tone advertisement, 1930s, also seems suspect. with Charles Lindbergh, references offering “home and office” sizes ranging from to Egypt were not uncommon in four ounces to five gallons. below, left: One- 1920s advertising. Faraway places in gallon jug of Lucky Lindy, with its comically small label and original shipping box. below, he perfume bottles MNHS ac- general were popular, and interest right: Ample quantity to “Make Your Home quired are so large that they in Egypt was particularly acute after Sweet Home with Swee-Tone.” Timmediately seem to confirm Howard Carter’s discovery of King

WINTER 2015–16 313 Tut’s tomb in 1922. The label goes on beverages remained legal under cer- he allegations in the 1930 to say that Swee-Tone takes the place tain conditions. Hard cider, beer, and indictment—that legal alcohol of incense yet is smokeless. The sec- wine could be made and consumed at Twas diverted to liquor makers— ond label directs the user to “spray home, though selling any was illegal. got me to wondering: How, exactly, freely, or place in a shallow dish” and Religious organizations were allowed could perfume be used as a fence adds that the perfume has a delight- to serve sacramental wine, and there for liquor, if at all? The easiest way, I ful “ORIENTAL odor.” (In perfume are numerous tales of how people supposed, was to make the “perfume” circles, Oriental has a specific mean- may have tried to use that loophole to easy and palatable to drink, either ing: a heavy scent with a preponder- their advantage.15 as-is or with the addition of other ance of animal notes but also spices, Medical usage was also allowed. flavors common in alcoholic bever- incense resins, and woody scents. In addition to being a medical dis- ages. This tactic would be like selling The net effect is usually intense and infectant, alcohol was frequently a mixed drink as a perfume. That heady).14 included in drugs and medicines, would not only be the easiest but also In my work, I have come both legitimate and less legitimate. the most profitable way to fence in- across other products sold during Many of the less-legitimate ones, for dustrial alcohol, as it would not need Prohibition—notably patent medi- which manufacturers often made any further refining before it could be cines and malt extracts—that were extravagant claims, were patent med- consumed. clearly geared toward skirting the icines that could be prescribed by a I did find one precedent for this law. Commonly, their detailed labels doctor willing to look the other way. practice: a product that was sold as explain the legal uses for the product, These preparations, primarily alcohol both a perfume and intoxicating bev- taking great pains to indicate how along with a few minor ingredients erage. In early nineteenth-century it should not be used in an illegal said to play a medicinal role, were Paris, the Legrand company, a per- manner—and thus, in so many words, often made to taste bad in order to fume wholesaler, marketed an eau de telling the consumer exactly how to discourage abuse. While many of Cologne labeled Renommée (Reputa- break the law. them, at least, may have acted as a tion), which was made with distilled The Swee-Tone label also relates placebo, they probably also facilitated grape-based ethyl alcohol and berga- that the product was “sold coast to the abuse of alcohol or could be habit mot, lavender, and rosemary oils. This coast,” and perhaps that is why fed- forming. was the only instance I could discover eral Prohibition authorities targeted Doctors also prescribed medically of an intoxicating liquid that could be Nipola. Newspapers often reported effective preparations dissolved in either ingested or applied to the skin suspicions that bootleggers were alcohol, as some drugs are more (or both!)—and it was advertised as shipping alcohol in some form across efficacious or easily administered such. By later in the nineteenth cen- the nation under the guise of legal that way. Medical usage may explain tury, most industrial alcohol in the industrial alcohol. Since perfume is why the stash of suspicious per- western world was being denatured made mostly of ethyl alcohol, which fume was found at Ancker Hospital. by adding unpalatable or toxic sub- is safe to drink, it seems reasonable Prohibition-era laws specified that stances in attempts to control alcohol that perfume could be used as an ef- illicit alcohol captured by authorities abuse.17 fective fence for liquor. must be destroyed, usually by pour- Back in twenty-first-century Min- ing it down a sanitary sewer or storm nesota, the liquid in the Nipola jugs drain or by bringing it to a hospital. sure smelled like typical perfume— urprising to many today, Prohi- Of course, this does not explain why and true perfumes are usually consid- bition only addressed the man- the jugs were behind a false wall, un- ered undrinkable. So, alternatively, Sufacture, sale, and distribution less on-site security was a concern. could Nipola have been supplying of alcohol; it did not explicitly ban Finally, some industries were al- perfume in a form that could be easily consumption. Any alcohol purchased lowed to use alcohol during Prohibi- distilled and then consumed? The before Prohibition began could be tion, including the perfume industry. essential oils in perfumes—extracted consumed legally, leading many to Authorities issued permits for the from plants or animals and then stockpile bottles before the deadline. disbursement and transportation of concentrated to the essence of the (Naturally, legal supplies rapidly alcohol to and from these exempted scent—typically make up only a small dwindled over the 13 years before re- corporations, keeping the quantities proportion of the whole solution. peal.) Additionally, certain alcoholic secret from the public.16 Nevertheless, it would be difficult to

314 MINNESOTA HISTORY The Scents Perfumers have a specialized vocabulary to describe scents, and it takes a very practiced, discerning nose to differen- tiate them. Similar scents are grouped into “accords”; most of the essential oils can be assigned to one of the following seven broad categories.

Floral: Jasmine, hyacinth, lilac, tuberose, honeysuckle, Chypre types: French for Cyprus, Chypre is named for and gardenia. “Fresher” versions include lily of the valley, the well-known Coty perfume first made in 1917. It is orange blossom, violet, carnation, and rose. characterized as gum labdanum, oakmoss, bergamot, citrus, and sandalwood. Green: Characterized as “crushed green leaf”; think pine, mint, or herbs. Camphor, often considered medici- Aldehydic: “Modern,” often largely synthetic perfumes nal, also has a green or fresh note. with sharp scents that include the chemical class of compounds known as aldehydes. Chanel No. 5, first sold Citrus: Nearly all of these come from fruit rinds— in 1920, is one of the earliest and most familiar. lemon, orange, tangerine, and grapefruit. More exotic, subtle oils from less familiar citrus fruits include berga- Leather/animal: The few essential oils derived from mot, neroli, and petitgrain. animals include musk, from musk deer of western China; ambergris, from sperm whales, a very old, tra- Oriental blends: A heavy scent with a preponderance ditional, and rare ingredient; civet, from civet cats of of animal notes but also spices, incense resins, and East Africa; and castoreum, from Russian and Canadian woody oils such as sandalwood, cedar, and patchouli. beavers, the Canadian being preferred.

There are many subordinate and more subtle accords and sub-accords, such as vanilla, metallic, burnt, anise, or waxy, used alone or in combination with other accords to describe a scent. Perfumers also speak of tone, ranging from a sharp or piercing quality to a medium or low tone, which is warm or heavy. Tenacity, the ability to linger without significantly diminishing, is enhanced by essential oils that are binders. Another way to measure linger-time is by top note (first impression), followed bymiddle note and, finally,dry out.

Increasingly, essential oils are synthe- sized (to reduce cost and avoid killing animals). The human nose, however, prefers at least some natural oils; a fragrance without them is often described as shrill or tinny and may be blamed for provoking headaches.

Source: Edwin Morris, Fragrance, especially pages 10, 12, 47–50, 226, 227, 228, 256.

Pair of musk deer frolicking on an advertising poster: “The male animal produces the Musk Perfume so celebrated in the Perfumers’ Art.”

WINTER 2015–16 315 remove them completely from the al- human hair). The thinner and longer apart into ions and ejecting them. The cohol through distillation—and even it is, the better it will separate out the distance they travel depends on their trace amounts of these oils are un- various constituents of the sample. A mass. Analyzing the size of these ions pleasant to taste—so this tactic seems stream of inert gas, such as helium, and their travel distance allows for unlikely. carries the vapor through the column. better identification of compounds Without analyzing the contents Along with separating out the constit- based on their molecular mass. of the Nipola bottles, we could not be uent parts, the column also measures In addition, a gas chromato- sure of either of the above scenarios. retention time—how long it takes the graph measures the quantity of the So, I contacted Millis Scientific, Incor- different parts to pass through and constituents relative to each other. porated, in Baltimore, which agreed exit the tube. It can often identify compounds at to analyze three samples: Swee-Tone, Often, an analyst is able to match extremely low levels, typically to a Lucky Lindy, and, at their suggestion, the retention time of a known com- parts-per-million or parts-per-billion a modern perfume for comparison to pound to one in the unknown sample, basis. This is particularly helpful be- the older ones. In the fall of 2014 I se- thus tentatively identifying it. How- cause perfumes contain only a small lected a perfume (the name of which ever, a gas chromatograph is only percentage of essential oils and, since I will not disclose, for legal reasons) as good as its reference set—the a particular formula is a blend of at a major department store and sent universe of known samples that several oils, any individual oil may the three samples off to Maryland. have already been tested and iden- constitute no more than two percent Of the different instruments tified. Many technicians share their of the entire volume of perfume. Fur- that could be used for analysis, Mil- data in large databases, so that a thermore, some essential oils occur in lis Scientific recommended a gas fairly complete range of chemical such low dilutions that they could be chromatograph mass spectrometer retention-time spectra is available considered trace quantities. Gas chro- (GCMS). Gas chromatography first to most analysts. But if a sample matographs are also accurate and pre- vaporizes a complex sample and then contains a compound that has never cise enough to identify compounds passes it through a tube of stationary been identified (or is not in the refer- perhaps not original to the perfume, media that interacts with the sample ence set), that compound may not be such as chemical contaminants, in different ways, slowing some com- identifiable. minor chemical byproducts, or chem- pounds down more than others. The A GCMS then uses a mass spec- ical degradation products. Knowing tube, called a column, is usually very trometer to further analyze the dif- the relative types and quantities of long (several hundred meters) and ferent fractions as they come out of essential oils allows us to roughly also very thin (about the diameter of a the column, breaking the molecules characterize a perfume according to the descriptions used in the industry.

hen I bought the modern sample, the salesperson Wexplained that perfumes today have a shelf life: their scent profile will change within a few years, probably due to chemical deterioration. While I thought this might be a ploy to sell more perfume, it also seemed reasonable, as some chemicals will interact with each other, particularly when in a solution together. I have not been able to confirm or refute the shelf-life claim, but it seems

Perfume organ where fragrances are blended, so-called because, as the label at left reads, “perfume is compounded like music.” likely that perfumes would change over time, especially if exposed to significant amounts of light, heat, or oxygen. Essential oils will polymerize and become gummy and dark with WHY PERFUME IS NOT FOR DRINKING time, but most perfume bottles, if Alcohols: properly sealed, permit little expo- Ethyl alcohol: Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi of Persia is widely sure to oxygen.18 Given the age of the credited with first isolating ethyl alcohol in the ninth or tenth century Nipola samples, I expected to see a AD. It is made by fermenting sugar solutions with yeast and distilling significant amount of deterioration the results. One of the world’s oldest recreational drugs, it is often and degradation products from the highly regulated and steeply taxed. Most of the one-billion-plus gallons essential oils, but I hoped these could of ethyl alcohol annually produced worldwide is used industrially—as be connected to the chemicals of a fuel additive, solvent, or cleaning or antiseptic agent, for example. origin. People consume only about five percent, and a negligible amount is The analysis results, however, used in perfume. Ethyl alcohol for industrial use is sold at a much lower seem to refute suspicions of signifi- price than liquor—in a denatured form that can not be safely con- cant deterioration, possibly because sumed. Because it is costly and difficult to separate the alcohol from the perfumes were stored in fairly the denaturant, this is an effective way to ensure large-scale availability safe, stable (cool and dark) conditions to industry with a lower risk that it will be misused. for many years. Gas chromatography Methyl alcohol: The simplest and smallest alcohol molecule, also identified many distinct compounds known as wood alcohol because it was commonly distilled from wood. in each of our samples: 29 in Lucky It cannot be safely ingested by humans, as it can cause blindness, coma, Lindy, 30 in the modern perfume, and death. For this reason, it is commonly used to denature ethyl alco- and 33 in Swee-Tone. Many of these hol; unfortunately, poisoning via methyl alcohol is still common today.* compounds appeared in more than Isopropyl alcohol: Commonly known as rubbing alcohol, this is less one sample; all told, more than 45 toxic than methanol, but also cannot be consumed by humans without different ones were found between causing headache, nausea, or coma. It is typically used as an indus- the three samples. Three compounds trial solvent, industrial fuel, and as a safe and inexpensive household in the Swee-Tone could not be identi- disinfectant. fied, probably because the reference set had no known matches. Of the 45 *More than 100 people died in Mumbai, India, in June 2015 after drinking bootleg compounds identified, at least 32 are liquor that contained methanol; www.bbc.com/news/world-asia- india- 33224514. essential oils and other additives commonly used in the perfume industry, and most of the others appear to be the new and old samples shared lavender, and violet, woody green minor contaminants approximately 17 of the average 30 scents of pine and cedar, and spicy or small quantities of compounds in each. I had expected notes such as coriander and rosemary. essential-oil degrada- the perfume industry to have evolved Finally, the modern perfume could tion products. Another more than this seems to suggest. be described as a woodsy cedar and surprising finding was Lucky Lindy’s fragrance is made juniper with a number of floral notes, that, although over up mostly of floral scents: rose, violet, including lilac, sweet rose, rose, jas- 75 years separate the jasmine, and lilac, with some linger- mine, and a lingering fruitiness like formulation of the ing notes of spiciness, citrus, vanillin, apple and pear. Sandalwood, found two Nipola perfumes cherry, cedar, and strong almond. in varying quantities in all three and the modern one, Swee-Tone aligns well with its Orien- samples, is often used as a fixative tal description, including, as it does, or binder. Diethyl phthalate was also

Lucky Lindy sample: card- citrus such as bergamot (often com- present in all three; a common de- board tube holding a corked pared to the scent of Earl Grey tea), naturant of alcohol, it may also have glass vial. other floral notes such as jasmine, been used as a fixative or binder.19

WINTER 2015–16 317 Breaking news, Minneapolis style: banner headline and the full story, at right.

hile mulling these re- or distillation. After locating legal often be determined by checking the sults, which suggest that documents pertaining to the Febru- court docket. The docket on Norda, Wthe Nipola perfume was ary 1930 indictment in the National case number 21145 in Chicago federal perfume, I learned of another person Archives branch in New York (North- district court, ran to 21 pages and cov- who had pursued this same Prohi- east Region), she pursued the federal ered more than four-and-a-half years bition thread. Freelance writer Joy case files in the Chicago archives of litigation, from February 1930 Baker conducted in-depth research (Great Lakes Region), sifting through to July 1934. (Prohibition ended on on another individual named in the more than 1,500 pages of documents. December 5, 1933). Long story short: indictment, Hermann J. Kohl, a Ger- These records indicated that Norda what apparently happened with the man immigrant holding a PhD in sold Srebren “large quantities of sa- conspiracy investigation was that the chemistry. Beginning in 1924—five ponifiable oils and esters, to wit ‘Lilac small operators could not afford to years into Prohibition—Kohl ran his 59’ . . . in violation of the National litigate; many of them pled guilty and own fragrance company, Norda Es- Prohibition Act.” Furthermore, Norda were convicted within a few years of sential Oils and Chemical Company in and Srebren shared warehouse space the indictment. But the major players New York City. According to Baker’s in Chicago, where Prohibition agents were able to afford expensive lawyers, research, Srebren, the kingpin, had found products from both compa- who drew out the investigation until, taught chemists such as Kohl how nies, including one-gallon bottles of conveniently, Prohibition was over- to remove oils from alcohol not by perfume intermingled with bottles of turned. At that point, the defendants distillation but, rather, by exposing whiskey. These records also include could simply change their plea from the liquid to caustic soda. This would references to members of the Gam- “not guilty” to “no contest.” Since the saponify the oil—turn it into a soap— bino mob family.20 law being prosecuted was no longer which could then be more easily Unfortunately, in the 1930s court being enforced, they (including Her- separated from the alcohol, possibly transcripts were rarely preserved, as mann Kohl and Anastassoff Srebren) with the assistance of precipitation was the case here. But outcomes can were released. We do not know the

318 MINNESOTA HISTORY outcome for the Sinykins and Amen- being manufactured into perfumes, y training is as an art con- rud, but the Nipola Company did out- was diverted direct to bootleggers.”21 servator. To pursue my live Prohibition. S. B. Qvale, the Twin-Cities-based Mprofession, I need a com- What we do know from the Minne- Northwest Prohibition administra- bination of knowledge and skills in apolis Tribune’s early February report tor, was often quoted in the 1930 science—specifically, chemistry—and is that the criminal investigation had newspaper articles detailing the in art. As a result, I feel I was well pre- begun in July 1929 in Chicago when federal indictment. In one story, the pared to conduct a technical investi- “prohibition agents discovered thou- St. Paul Pioneer Press reported that he gation into these jugs of perfume. sands of sub-standard toilet products qualified the charges against Nipola, The analysis seems to confirm capable of being redistilled into pure saying that the company name may that our alcoholic liquid could, in- grain alcohol.” It is not clear what was have been used by members of a deed, be considered perfume. Fur- meant by “sub-standard,” but it stands crime syndicate to cover up their ille- thermore, small vials of Lucky Lindy to reason that putting less essential gal activities. Qvale took pains not to and other Nipola scents, recently do- oil into a perfume would make later exonerate Nipola, but he also stated nated to the Society, suggest that the removal easier. The bottles at MNHS, that the company might be guiltless; company sold legitimate perfumes in however, appear to contain typical— though it was listed in the syndicate’s quantities meant for individual use. not sub-standard—perfumes; if any- records as the receiver of misappro- Nevertheless, in the light of library thing, they could be considered quite priated industrial alcohol, the com- and archival research, it seems likely strong. On the other hand, the Tribune pany might neither have ordered nor that Nipola also engaged in illegal article also mentioned that those received “a drop of it.” He went on to activities—and our one-gallon bot- named in the indictment utilized an reveal that he had personally checked tles were an integral part of a large “older practice, frequently used by on Nipola many times and had always criminal conspiracy during a very bootleggers in the past under which found it to be operating within the interesting, tumultuous period in the [industrial] alcohol, instead of bounds of the law.22 American history.

Notes

1. Donor information and donation prove- e.d. 251, sheet 11A; St. Paul Pioneer Press, Feb. 11, 16. St. Paul Daily News, Feb. 11, 1930. nance in accession file 2013.141, Minnesota His- 1930. For genealogy, see www.myheritage.com. 17. Morris, Fragrance, 173. Bergamot is a cit- torical Society (MNHS). 13. Willmar Tribune, Sept. 4, 1918; U.S., Cen- rus fruit that grows only in southern Italy, parts 2. Edwin T. Morris, Fragrance: The Story of Per- sus, Population, 1930, Minneapolis, e.d. 27-127, of France, and Turkey. The fruit is usually not fume from Cleopatra to Chanel (New York: Charles sheet 4B, and 1940, Spokane, e.d. 41-38, sheet consumed, but the rind is used to produce oil. Scribner’s Sons, 1984), xiii–xiv. 11B, also showing that Amenrud lived in Henne- Many recognize bergamot oil as the scent of Earl 3. Morris, Fragrance, 214, 5, 3. pin Co. in 1935; Minneapolis City Directories, Grey tea; the rind is also used in marmalade and 4. Morris, Fragrance, 130. MNHS. Turkish delight. Because its scent is less striking 5. Morris, Fragrance, 10, 5. 14. For the Egyptian revival and Egyptian- than that of most other citrus oils, bergamot 6. Morris, Fragrance, 58. themed perfumes from the era, see www.ebay serves as a base in many perfumes, combining 7. Morris, Fragrance, 8, xv, 43. .com/gds/The-Egyptian- Revival- /1000000000 with other scents in a way that allows them to 8. Regions Hospital, “Our History,” www 2556140/g.html. On Oriental odor, see Morris, better complement each other. .regionshospital.com/rh/about/regions-history.html. Fragrance, 48. The Swee-Tone label also recom- 18. Morris, Fragrance, 17. 9. See, for example, Minneapolis Tribune, mends not spraying it on polished furniture, 19. Morris, Fragrance, 252, 5. St. Paul Pioneer Press, and St. Paul Daily News, all presumably because the alcohol would damage 20. Here and below, “Was Hermann J. Kohl Feb. 10, 11, 1930; Capital Times (Madison, WI), the varnish. Ever Convicted of Bootlegging?” www.joybaker Feb. 10, 1930; Wichita Daily Times (Wichita Falls, 15. Here and two paragraphs below, for .com/tag/norda-inc/. My thanks to MNHS refer- TX), Feb. 10, 1930. exemptions, see https://marymiley.wordpress ence associate Ellen Jaquette for this lead. 10. Here and below, Minneapolis Tribune, .com/2012/05/05/prohibition-exemptions- how- to 21. Minneapolis Tribune, Feb. 11, 1930. Feb. 11, 1930. -get- legal- alcohol- during- the- twenties/ . The Star 22. St. Paul Pioneer Press, Feb. 11, 1930. 11. Incorporation records are maintained by Tribune (Minneapolis), Oct. 27, 2014, reported the Minnesota Secretary of State and can be that an antique wine and liquor collector in found at mblsportal.sos.state.mn.us; Nipola Com- Pennsylvania who was selling some of his collec- The photo on p. 315 is in the Library of Congress; pany, Inc. is file number 18545-AA. Copies of the tion was charged with illegally reselling alcohol p. 316 is courtesy the Musée du Parfum, Paris. All St. Paul City Directory are in the MNHS library. without a liquor license. Pennsylvania’s current others are in MNHS collections; p. 313 and 317 by 12. In 1914 Sinykin’s liquor store was at 124 liquor code (instituted to discourage drinking Jason Onerheim. So. Wabasha St. and he lived at 525 Laurel Ave. when Prohibition ended) specifies the only two U.S., Census, Population, St. Paul: 1930, enumer- ways to dispose of illegal liquor: destruction via ation district [e.d.] 62-160, sheet 14B, and 1940, the sewer or donation to a hospital.

WINTER 2015–16 319

Copyright of Minnesota History is the property of the Minnesota Historical Society, and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or users or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder’s express written permission: contact us.

Individuals may print or download articles for personal use.

To request permission for educational or commercial use, contact us. Include the author’s name and article title in the body of your message. But first--

If you think you may need permission, here are some guidelines:

Students and researchers • You do not need permission to quote or paraphrase portions of an article, as long as your work falls within the fair use provision of copyright law. Using information from an article to develop an argument is fair use. Quoting brief pieces of text in an unpublished paper or thesis is fair use. Even quoting in a work to be published can be fair use, depending on the amount quoted. Read about fair use here: http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html • You should, however, always credit the article as a source for your work.

Teachers • You do not need permission to incorporate parts of an article into a lesson. • You do need permission to assign an article, either by downloading multiple copies or by sending students to the online pdf. There is a small per-copy use fee for assigned reading. Contact us for more information.

About Illustrations • Minnesota History credits the sources for illustrations at the end of each article. Minnesota History itself does not hold copyright on images and therefore cannot grant permission to reproduce them. • For information on using illustrations owned by the Minnesota Historical Society, see MHS Library FAQ.