OUR HISTORY
What does it take to stay in business for three centuries? Only a handful of companies in the world can answer this question from experience; Caswell-Massey is proud to be in this rarified crowd. From our early founding in Newport, Rhode Island, by Dr. Hunter, to the legendary products created under the guidance of the Hazard and Caswell families, to our glory years in New York City under the enthusiastic leadership of the Taylor brothers, our history and our future is rooted in quality, innovation, curiosity, and perseverance—which is to say that we are truly an American Original.
Our Roots
Caswell-Massey was originally founded in 1752 by a Scottish doctor, Dr. William Hunter, who may qualify as the most adventurous of our founding fathers to this day. Apart from his willingness to travel to an unknown land at age eighteen to make his way as a new-world doctor, and his wild success doing so, he is also notably credited with creating the first American Fragrance, sold in our collection today as “Number Six.”
More than anything, a dedication to quality is at the root of everything we do. Since our founding, we have had an unconditional guarantee and accepted returns of our products for any reason. We stand behind the products we make, we care about the people who make them, and we know that everything we do is in the service of our customers, new and old. We have always manufactured our products in the USA, for nearly three centuries, in order to ensure that our quality is maintained and that attention is paid to detail at every step in the process.
Our Mission
We are passionate about our customers. We strive for longevity and notoriety across generations—more than we aspire to be part of the latest trend. We are a family owned business with a rich American heritage that benefits from the experience and wisdom of many families and millions of customers that have been part of our brand since 1752. And we know that while today we are the driving force of Caswell-Massey, we are only the stewards of this great American brand, carrying it forward into the future for the next three centuries.
We are passionate about our products. We know that the fragrance of Caswell-Massey perfumes, colognes, soaps and our many wonderful products are embedded in the scent memories of so many of our customers. Our most famous scents may remind our customers of their long-lost grandfather, a loved one who may not be nearby, or maybe the person they see every day and greet at home each evening - and we take these relationships with our products very seriously. And when we create new products and new scents, we strive to make remarkable products, knowing that we are not just creating scents and soaps—for some customers, these scents will go on to become connected to important memories and special relationships.
We believe in the future. We are optimists. We know that many of the ingredients come from natural resources that need to be cared for if we want to have these ingredients available to us in another 250 years. We know that it takes energy to make our products and deliver them to our customers, so we are constantly looking for ways to expand our use of renewable energy in our manufacturing and fulfillment processes.
We ask questions. We are curious. We are constantly searching for new ingredients. Dr. Hunter created his first scents as part of his medical endeavors, to cure ailments. Throughout the nineteenth century, the Hazards and Caswells were constantly inventing new scents, elixirs, and formulations for their customers, and meticulously recording their formulations by hand for future generations. Ralph and Milton Taylor travelled around the world to search for specific varieties of Orris and Rose Oil for their formulations. And today, we are still pursuing new ingredients, new techniques of creating fragrances, and new collaborations like our partnership with the New York Botanical Garden.
