Edmond Roudnitska: Le Parfum

Edmond Roudnitska: Le Parfum

Synopsis based on the sixth edition (2000)

by Marcello Aspria

** work in progress - preview of chapter 1 **

 Introduction

There are many myths and misconceptions about perfumery. One of the main purposes of Roudnitska's book Le Parfum, first published in 1980, was to educate the public: it covers cultural and artistic aspects of perfumery, putting particular emphasis on aesthetic reflections. Roudnitska was well aware that his knowledge and experience would be valuable to anyone interested in perfume: in the past, perfumers had always closely guarded their trade secrets from the outside world, and prior to 1980, books on perfumery were usually written by unqualified authors.

Unveiling the true identity of perfumery to a wider audience was in itself a steep hill to climb; but Roudnitska's goals reached much further. Besides his efforts to educate the general public, he went to great lengths to grab the attention of French lawmakers. His mission was to demonstrate that a beautiful perfume[1] is subjected to the same law on artistic property that has protected visual and audile works of art in France since 1957. Roudnitska considered the masterpieces of perfumery as part of France's cultural and artistic heritage, and emphasized the importance of defending them from the lethal effects of plagiarism. More than that, he stressed the necessity to actively support and encourage the craftsmen who preserve this heritage for future generations.

As Roudnitska commented in his introduction, in recent decades the perfume profession has been dominated by profit rather than good taste. Perfumery, he argued, is no longer in the hands of composers, and olfactory violence[2] now reigns supreme. While his first observation still applies to today's situation, it seems that the race for the strongest, most concentrated perfume was at its peak in the 1980's.

Although Roudnitska's uncompromised views on contemporary perfumery may come across as highly polemical, he nevertheless saw a bright future ahead: if we give perfumery back to its real composers – people with talent – and re-educate industry professionals and the disoriented public alike, things will turn out for the better. With the third edition (1990) of Le Parfum, Roudnitska noticed the first timid signs of this revolution. His final recommendation was simple: if we wish to save the art of perfumery for future generations, we need to give priority to product quality, rather than investing all our energy in sales volume.

Coda

To Edmond Roudnitska, the pursuit of beauty was no trivial matter: he regarded it as the foundation on which morals are built. He made it clear that aesthetics should be the basis of any type of education: the fact that we have long neglected this discipline explains why our teachers, politicians, engineers, and captains of industry often lack a good sense of judgement, which is an essential requirement in selecting our objectives and the best means to reach them. While I do not necessarily share his views on this subject, I do agree with Roudnitska that the ability to distinguish beauty from uglyness is of fundamental importance in life. I hope that my synopsis of Le Parfum will serve as a useful guide to the reader in their exploration of the beautiful Art of perfumery.

Chapter 1: History

Etymology - The French noun "parfum" seems to have its origin in Mediterranean languages, where the verb "perfumar" (Provençal, Venetian) or "perfumá" (Milanese) were in use. Several derivatives of the noun "fumus" are known in classical and neoclassical Latin (effumo, suffumo, transfumo, affumo) but there are no occurrances of the verb "perfumare"; this seems to indicate that the latter is a relatively recent compound.

I. Perfume in Ancient Times

There are various historical and biblical references to the use of perfume in Ancient times. Egyptians and Assyrians attributed metaphysical and cosmic meaning to perfume, while in India it was essentially restricted to religious ceremonies. The manufacture of perfume in Egypt was at its peak in the period of the Ptolomeans, when the main factories were located in Alexandria, and raw materials – mostly of vegetable origin – were imported from Arabia, Persia, China, and India. Embalming the dead required perfumes, as did therapeutical and religious practices. Women applied fragrant unguents to the body, and dyed their hair and face; this cosmetic use was later extended to Greece, where flower extracts were added to the range of balms, resins, and spices already in use. The first profane use of perfume is generally attributed to the Greeks.

Many of the fragrant materials used in Greece (and later in Rome) were imported from the East, routed through Egypt. Here's an overview of ingredients used in the Classical world:

 

 

 

With the intensification of the spice trades, the sacred and precious character of perfumery was on the wane. In Rome in particular, perfumes were used for almost anything: baths, clothes, atriums, and lamp oils were heavily scented; the immoderate use of perfume in Roman orgies is legendary. The fall of the Roman Empire made an end to the secular use of fragrances: during the Middle Ages, they were once again restricted to religious ceremonies. In this period, the greatest contributions to perfumery came from the Arab world, with the rediscovery[3] of the coil and the alembic; these instruments were used for the distillation of aromatic plants, and eventually enabled the discovery of alcohol.

The leasurly use of fragrances was reintroduced in the West by the Crusaders: perfume gradually became associated with luxury, and Venetian merchants in particular practiced a florishing trade in aromatic substances. The lack of personal hygiene meant that perfumes were long used to cover up malodours; in France, this habit evolved into a form of social self-expression. As an indelible part of French court life, perfume became an object of prestige; this phenomenon was further stimulated by 17th century French monarchs, who gave new impulses to the perfume trade, and attracted notable Italian perfumers to their kingdom.

The early 18th century saw the light of the original Eau de Cologne by Jean-Marie Farina, and the founding of the Corporation des Parfumeurs (1730) in Grasse. The first famous names in the perfume industry, Houbigant (1775) and Lubin (1798), were soon followed by companies such as Piver, Guerlain, and Laugier, all established during the French Restauration. François Coty, a key figure in the modern perfume industry, started his career in the early 20th century. The great economic success of his perfume house, as well as that of others (Guerlain, Houbigant, Roger & Gallet, Bourjois, Caron, and Millot) inspired contemporary fashion designers to launch perfumes of their own. Paul Poiret was the first couturier to venture in the world of fine fragrances: although his Parfums de Rosine were not the success he had hoped for, several young fashion designers quickly followed his example. The early 1920's saw the launch of Coco Chanel's first perfume, No.5, which became a worldwide success in 1925.[4] The list of designers who trailed in Chanel's wake grew rapidly; nowadays, it would be quicker to name those who haven't launched a perfume yet. Since the 19th century, chemistry has played a fundamental role in the expansion of the perfumer's palette. With the advent of synthetic materials, the structure of perfumes gradually became more complex. The creative freedom of today's perfumers is primarily obstructed by commercial restraints.

II. Modern Times

Perfumes belong to fragrance families, which in their turn are the offspring of a small number of masterpieces. About fifteen of them were created over a period of seven decades: the first chef de file of modern perfumery was Coty's L'Origan (1905). From the same house came the beautiful and idiosyncratic Chypre (1917), which gave its name to a whole new fragrance category. Millot's Crêpe de Chine (1928) was one of many successful takes of the original Chypre theme: rose partially replaced jasmin, while the combination of styrallyl acetate and fatty aldehydes made a superb debut of their own. The concept of adding large quantities of grassy aldehydes to a Chypre came about with the creation of Chanel's No.5: it gave way to a new breed of potent, dissonant perfumes known as aldehydic perfumes. Lanvin's Arpège is an example of a very fruity, aldehydic fragrance; countless other creations followed, resulting in a myriad of leathery, woody, spicy, sweet, green, fresh, and marine variations on the aldehydic chypre-theme.

As No.5 was taking the world by storm, another remarkable creation saw the light: Guerlain's Shalimar. A warm, ambery perfume with balsamic and vanillic notes that became characteristic of a new family of Amber fragrances.[5] Similarly, the Lily of the Valley-theme was taken to new heights with the launch of Dior's Diorissimo (1956), while Dior's Eau Sauvage (1966) opened new paths for the fresh and androgynous eaux de toilette that are so popular today. In short, we can distinguish the following fragrance groups:

 

 

We're waiting for truly new olfactory forms to emerge in perfumery. It's not a matter of discovering new materials, but rather of imagination and spirit:[6] merely mixing new ingredients does not necessarily lead to a new form. We've seen many violent, often vulgar creations in the past few years. But since 1988, the first timid reactions against this sensorial brutality have become manifest: many young women, who were sadly unable to explore the true beauty of past creations, now tend towards lighter fragrances. We're on the verge of a new era.

[1] With the expression "beau parfum" Roudnitska refers to the masterpieces of perfumery.
[2] The author speaks of "violence olfactive" to address the overwhelming effect of certain fragrances.
[3] Research conducted by Paolo Rovesti suggests that distillation instruments were used in the Indus Valley as early as 5000 years ago.
[4] Parfums Chanel came under guidance of the Wertheimer group in 1925.
[5] The latter term is a literal translation of the French "esprit".
[6] Often referred to as Orientals in the Anglo-Saxon world.

Edmond Roudnitska - Le Parfum
Paris: Presses Universitaires de France
Collection "Que sais-je?" (orig. 1980)
ISBN: 2 13 046057 7