, INQUIRY INTO ORIGIN OF LITERATURE OF PERFUMERY 201 work to be the earliest printed book by a woman author. Another sixteenth century book that divulged the secrets of blend- ing odoriferous substances was pen- ned by the world-famous Nostra- damus, and bore the title: "Ex- cellent et Moult Utile Opuscule, h Tous Necessaire Qui Desirent Avoir .: ß i::N V•,E.. N El .T'I.'. A, Figure 2.--Title page of the famous six- teenth-century book of "Secrets" that con- tained "much on the art of perfumery." (Collection, F. E. Wall.) Cognoissance de Plusieurs Exquises Receptes..." published in Lyon (I555). How astonishing it is that ß the historians of perfumery have overlooked the contribution of a man of the stature of Nostradamus. Incidentally, a later edition of this work carried the word "parfums" in the title. One of the most widely read works of the sixteenth century, and to this day a collector's item, was "The Secrets of Alexis of Piedmont" (De' Secreti del Reverendo Donno Alessio Piemontese) attributed to Giro- lamo Ruscelli it was first published in Italian in I555, in French in x557, and in English (but translated from the French) as early as x558. In x562, there appeared "Gli Ornamenti delle Donne," by Gio- vanni Marinelli, a physician of re- pute, who sought to preserve the field of cosmetics as a branch of medicine. From this period, we cite the several books of Jean Li•baut, like- wise a physician, who wrote in Latin, but whose writings are better known in their French translations. His work, "Trois Livres de 1' Embellissement et Ornement du Corps Humain," published in Paris in x58• , may have been largely in- spired by the writings of Marinelli. Of the sixteenth century French literature on cosmetics, few books achieved the success of the work of Andr• Le Fournier, and few works of comparable success were so com- pletely overlooked by later writers. Dated x 530, his book bore the title, "La D•coration d'Humaine Nature et Adornement des Dames," and a copy, perhaps the only one in the United States, is in the Army Medi- cal Library. There were several other minor sixteenth century books which we should like to mention briefly each

202 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS is a work of secrets and recipes: "Sensuit les Fleurs et Secrets de Medicine," by Raoul du Montyerr, appeared in Paris in I53I , and was reprinted on many occasions, one printing dated as late as •6o 9. "Bastiment des Receptes," an anonymous work, was first published in Poitiers in 1544, inspired at'least one Italian book, and went through several printings, one as late as •597. "Opera Nova Placevole laquale Insegna di far Varie Compositione Odorifere per Adorner Ciascuna Donna," an anonymous work, ap- peared in Venice in •525, a rare book whose title emphasizes the odoriferous nature of the composi- tions to be used for adornment. An Italian book, "Opera Nuova Intitolata Disicio di Ricette, etc.," likewise mentions odor as part of a lengthy title. This anonymous work is not dated, but from typog- raphy and other evidence, it can undoubtedly be placed in the first half of the sixteenth century. Many other minor works ap- peared, but for about a century few writers on cosmetics and perfumes had the success of Ruscelli, Cortese, Marinelli, Le Fournier, Li•baut, and several of their contemporaries. Perhaps the many translations and the new editions, the wide circle of readers obtained for these writers, met the demands for information. But it was likewise during this period that medical men dissociated themselves from cosmetics, and that the manufacture of products for adornment and fragrance was rel- egated to the apothecary, and to the aristocratic and wealthy ladies who found in perfume blending a fascinating hobby. At any rate, there is no record of another book devoted exclusively to perfumery until 1.678 , when there appeared, in Venice, "Secreti Nobi- 11issimi dell'Arte Profumatoria," by Giovanni Ventura Roseto, a copy of which is in the Rare Book Room of the New York Public Library. Roseto's book has been little quoted, seldom reprinted, is hardly known among these early writings, but we find that it is a land- mark in the effort to create a litera- ture devoted solely to perfumery it is a sign of the revival of a litera- ture that was moribund and it is further significant that as late as •678 , when France was already dominant in the perfume world, the only work on perfumery from this period should appear in Italian, rather than French. But above all, Roseto's work is indicative of a gradual yet incomplete divorce of the art of perfumery from that of the medical practitioner, and the beginnings of a separation from the literature of cosmetics. From Ro- seto on, perfumery was to be worthy of a separate literature, and only in rare instances are major contri- butions to the subject found in works on cosmetics. The first major activity in the art of perfumery in France, after the early sixteenth-century works,. is reflected in "Le Parfumeur Fran- cois," by Simon Barbe, the first edition of which probably appeared