Clive Christian’s history began in Victorian England where it was established by William Sparks Thomson as The Crown Perfumery Company. Having first opened a corsetry business in 1840, Thomson and his son found that due to the tightness of the garment’s ladies would faint and so lavender based smelling-salts were introduced to revive his clients. These salts were soon followed by the creation of a highly concentrated perfume called Crab Apple Blossom in 1865 which is where this company’s perfumed history begins.
The scents quickly caught the attention of high society and in 1872 Queen Victoria, one of the companies most famous customers, graciously granted the use of the image of her crown on the perfume bottles.
By 1879 The Crown Perfumery Company was exporting half a million bottles of 49 different perfumes to 47 different countries around the world, establishing its place in the world of perfumery.