In the 1930s and 1940s, several companies began using a new approach to marketing inexpensive perfumes, packaging their products in containers which sometimes resembled dollhouse furniture. Although this was not the original purpose, most dollhouse collectors eventually encounter some of these items in Depression or World War II era dollhouses or in mixed lots of furniture. Often they are a little too big, or slightly kitschy, or almost overwhelmed by the bottle of perfume they contain. But sometimes they add just the right touch of coziness or whimsy to a vintage dollhouse.