What Atkinsons is known for
James Atkinson established his London perfume business in 1799; 24 Old Bond Street was its historic address, not its current door.
Atkinsons was founded in London in 1799 by James Atkinson, who arrived from Cumberland carrying his own recipes for toiletries and fragrances, and was soon joined by his brother Edward; the pair manufactured their early lines at the Eonia Works in Rotherhithe. Their signature product, a bear-grease hair pomade marketed on claims that it could stimulate hair regrowth, remained a bestseller into the First World War and gave the house its enduring chained-bear emblem. In 1832 James Atkinson was appointed Perfumer to the Court of St. James, and the firm received a Royal Warrant from King George IV; documented clients from this period include the Duke of Wellington, Admiral Lord Nelson, Beau Brummell and Sarah Bernhardt, alongside assorted European royalty. The brand passed through several owners in the early twenty-first century before the Italian fragrance house Perfume Holding acquired it from Procter & Gamble in 2008 and relaunched it in September 2013 as Atkinsons 1799, rebuilding the range around its Bond Street origin story while manufacturing and distributing from Italy. No dedicated Atkinsons-operated boutique currently appears in the brand's own store locator or in independent retail listings; the perfumes are instead distributed through multi-brand perfumeries and department stores across Europe.
How ORBIS reads this city
Best for — London perfumery since 1799, the bear-and-crown house revived on Old Bond Street
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Where next
- Houbigant — Paris
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Hand-curated for ORBIS · no paid placement