Caswell-Massey has a long history, being one of the first ever American fragrance houses. 

It started out as an apothecary under Dr. William Hunter - “Dr. Hunter’s Apothecary" - in 1752.

He compounded and sold medications and medical equipment, eventually adding in personal care items and fragrances from Europe.

Dr. Hunter created products using essential oils for medicinal purposes, and blended 20 of his own different colognes, numbered One through Twenty, with Number Six being the most famous.

Throughout the years ownership changed hands, even undergoing legal battles at certain points.

The company became known as Hazard & Caswell under the ownership of Rowland Hazard and Phillip Caswell, changing to Caswell & Hazard in 1833 after Rowland’s death.

This same year, the first store was opened in New York.

In 1876, it became Caswell-Massey under the ownership of John R. Caswell(Phillips’s brother) and William Massey, a doctor from Canada.

In 1906 the business was incorporated as Caswell-Massey Company.

In 1936, brothers Ralph and Milton Taylor took over ownership, after Ralph had worked for the company for 20 years. They kept the Caswell-Massey name, which had acquired worldwide recognition.

The business was handed town with the Taylor family until 1988, when it was sold to private owners.

With business declining, Anne Robinson took over in 1999, seeing the company through its 250th anniversary in 2002. 

In 2003, Anne stepped down, and the business traded hands through various investors.

In 2007 Caswell-Massey became privately owned again, and is still under this ownership as of today(2025).

In 2017 the company updated and rebranded everything while still sticking to the brand’s heritage. The website and social media were updated, as well as the packaging, and the formulas were kept as close as possible to the original recipes. 

In this same year, the company began working with the New York Botanical Garden and IFF to create the Living Florals collection, which uses ‘Headspace Technology’, AKA ‘Living Technology’, to extract the flower essences without harming the flower. (We will touch on headspace technology another time).

Some of the fragrances found within the collection today are reformulations of the original fragrances created between 1772 and 1984. Each of these scents was handled carefully, being recreated with love and attention to detail, getting as close to the original formulation as was possible. Quite a few of their scents are new releases, made after 2018, but stick to the heritage of the brand and staying true to the simplicity of the perfumes from another era. 

A few highlight fragrances from the Caswell-Massey brand are:

Number Six - This scent was the 6th fragrance that Dr. Hunter created, and was the first fragrance produced and sold within the US, in 1772. It blends Citruses, Clove, Rose, Musk, and Lavender to create a vintage-meets-modern fragrance with a refreshing barbershop style aroma.

Jockey Club - This scent is super clean and casually elegant. It was released in 1840 and is considered the first ‘sport’ fragrance. It was a popular scent amongst the horse racing clubs, and was inspired by the bouquets given to the winners of the horse races. It is a sophisticated blend of Citruses, flowers, and Amber that is both invigorating and calming.

Marem - This scent is a beautiful, juicy, Rose scent. It was originally created in 1914 as a fragrance for actress Alla Nazimova, born Marem Levanton. It was released in 2014 as Marem, a scent that celebrates unapologetic women who live their lives with meaning, like Alla did. Like the ever enticing Rose, Crimean Rose in this case, the scent develops from a calm, warm, gentle, Rose to a juicy, creamy, ethereal scent with Red Currant, Neroli, Eucalyptus, Amber, and Cedarwood.

Greenbriar - This scent is the ultimate barbershop scent. Originally released in 1984, it was loosely inspired by the upscale barbershops you might find in the Upper East Side of New York, where the Ivy League Preps and Wall Street moguls alike would go to refresh and clean up. Oakmoss and Sage thrive with the brightness of a citrus opening, and the warmth of the Patchouli, Vetiver, and Musk base.

LX48 - This scent is a striking Leather and Tobacco scent. It was released in 2018, the first new fragrance for the house in nearly 50 years. It was inspired by the former flagship store on Lexington Avenue and 48th Street in New York. Violet, Geranium, and Oakmoss lend a gentle green/floral vibe to the scent, mellowing the blend of Tobacco and Vintage Leather, creating a scent that is reminiscent of smoking rooms filled with leather armchairs, elegant wood paneling, and elegant men. 

The company makes a variety of products aside from fragrances, including soaps, lotions, creams, and shave products.

You can find a small variety of the Caswell-Massey products in store and online.

We’d love to hear about your experiences with Caswell-Massey.