The Lost Art of Perfume

“He who ruled scent ruled the hearts of men.”

Patrick Süskind, Perfume.

The manufacturing secrets of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, the hero of Süskind’s novel, have been forgotten. Or nearly forgotten. Master perfumer Septimus Piesse (1820-1882) was one of the last to learn about musical alchemy and the intimate history of fragrances: “There is, so to speak, an octave of odors, like an octave of notes; certain perfumes blend together like the sounds of an instrument.”

We present here the essential...