INQUIRY INTO ORIGIN OF LITERATURE OF PERFUMERY in x693. The work of Barbe offered instructions in blending, described the raw materials of perfumery, and devoted considerable attention to the perfuming of snuff. ? ::A R. F: :U :./X'il.E U R :"F "R :.N C 0 l le.•:manieres-' de:•t:iret,::les Od•u•r• ] des:F:teurs• •' hi::fe'•t6.ti'tds•fortes l:arili•d•:•: d:•s perframes RCl:i.gie:ufe•:. ... '• ..• = , -- :-,--:z...:.:•.-•:•. • -•:.x: ......... Figure 3,&he of the very rare perfume books, containing considerable material on scenting of snuff, (Collection, E, Sagarim) The I693 edition of "Le Parfum- eur Francois" is one of the really rare books on perfumery. A check with authorities discloses that the only copy in any American library or public institution is owned by 'Harvard University, and my own copy would seem to be the only other in America. A second edition, published in x696, is owned by the Biblioth[que Nationale, and in I699 substantially the same book was published under the title "Le Par- fumeur Royal." References to edi- tions earlier than I693 are found in some bibliographies, but there is every indication that such refer- ences were written in error. Like- wise confusing is a reference to a book entitled "The French Per- fumer," dated •696 we believe that this refers to "Le Parfumeur Francois," and that later authors translated the title. In examining the works of Cor- tese, Roseto, Barbe, and those who followed, one finds interesting ex- amples of the formulas then in use, and one can follow the evolution of man's techniques and of his knowl- edge in any given aspect of the art. The earliest references to per- fumery and odors in the English -language are found in a scientific treatise by Robert Boyle, "Experi- ments and Observations about the Mechancial Production of Odours" (x675), and in the early dispen- satories and pharmacopoeias. In this last-named category, two well- known works that contain abundant references to aromatics are "Bazilica Chymica... or Royal and Practical Chemistry," by Oswalld Crollius (London, I67O), and "The Corn- pleat Chymical Dispensatory in Five Books," by Dr. John Schroe- der (London, •669). But even earlier, the women of England had

204 JOURNAL OF 'THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS turned toward the blending of per-' fumes and flavors, and the manu- facture of cosmetics. For this pur- pose, the latter sixteenth-century English lady of the wealthier classes had her own still-room, sought literature on products of adornment, and did not retire from the practice of home manufacture until the eighteenth century, when this work was relegated to her maid. From this period date many curi- ous and charming old books. Many of the earliest cook books contained secti6ns on perfumes. Among the cosmetic works that were addressed to the ladies and that have sur- vived-and those we have found are all post-Elizabethan--are John 'Shirley's "The Accomplished Ladies Rich Closet of Rarities" (3rd ed., •69•) "The Accomplished House- wife, A Gentlewoman's Companion" (anon., •748) and "Several Letters Between Two Ladies wherein the Lawfulhess and Unlawfulness of Artificial Beauty in Point of Con- science, Are Nicely Debated," signed by C. G. and dated •7o•, but of which a first edition probably appeared in •66z. When one considers that perfume blending was being practiced in the home, it becomes clear that any work by a professional perfumer which divulged his secrets would be considered a threat to the per- f•me industry. It is from this point of view that we can under- stand why a book called "The British Perfumer," written by Char- les Lillie in the •73o's, remained in manuscript form, not to be pub- lished until z8z2. When finally printed, it must have sold out very quickly, for a second edition, with some changes in the title page, ap- peared the same year. The author mentioned that relatively few people knew anything about this subject, and that the entire use of perfumes seemed to be on the decline, so that it was his intention "to rescue this art, as far as possible, from total annihilation and to point out both to the public and to the perfumer, how they may obtain every article used in this business in its greatest purity, and most approved state." An important contribution to this growing literature was made by another British perfumer, G. W. S. Piesse, whose works were utilized and copied for many years by conti- nental writers. In his best-known work, "The Art of Perfumery" (London, •855), Piesse first pub- lished his renowned musical scale of odor classification. Another British perfumer, a con- temporary of Piesse, was Eugene Rimmel, whose shop was in fact located on the same corner as had formerly been occupied by Charles Lillie. His great work, "The Book of Perfumes" (London, •865), was a magnificent piece of historical re- search, an original study that has lightened the burden of every per- fume historian that followed him. However, even Rimmel made biblio- graphical errors of omission and commission, indicating a lesser ac- quaintance with the Italian litera- ture than with the French. These errors were evidently called to