SEXUALITY
Scent and sexuality go together like peanut butter and jelly. Iwan Bloch's peculiar
Odoratus Sexualis
is striking for its unabashed curiosity about sexual odors, if also for its views on race and scent, which will be offensive to many. The views of Havelock Ellis, which may seem dated from a psychological perspective, still seem right to me where they concern the sense of smell and the role of odor in human relations.
Â
Bloch, Iwan.
Odoratus Sexualis.
New York: Panurge Press, 1934.
Davenport, John.
Aphrodisiacs and Anti-Aphrodisiacs.
London: privately printed, 1869.
Ellis, Havelock.
Studies in the Psychology of Sex: Sexual Selection in Man
. Philadelphia: F. A. Davis Co., 1905.
Hirsch, Alan R.
Scentsational Sex
. Boston: Element, 1998.
Kohl, James Vaughn, and Robert T. Francoeur.
The Scent of Eros
. New York: Continuum, 1995.
Lake, Max.
Scents and Sexuality
. London: Futura, 1991.
SENSE OF SMELL AND SYNESTHESIA
The best book on the sense of smell is Roy Bedichek's, which includes strange and beautiful examples from the natural world. Synesthesia, the interrelatedness of all the senses (i.e., the ability to hear color, smell sounds, see olfactory shapes) has influenced poets and artists throughout the ages. Diane Ackerman's book provides a wonderful introduction to each of the senses and their peculiarities and similarities. A particular favorite of mine is Roland Hunt's book on the mystical traditions linking perfumes with music and color.
Â
Ackerman, Diane.
A Natural History of the Senses.
New York: Vintage, 1990.
Bedichek, Roy.
The Sense of Smell.
London: Michael Joseph, 1960.
Burton, Robert.
The Language of Smell.
London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1976.
Classen, Constance.
The Color of Angels.
London: Routledge, 1998.
Cytowic, Richard.
The Man Who Tasted Shapes.
New York: Jeremy Tarcher, 1993.
Hunt, Roland.
Fragrant and Radiant Symphony
. London: C. W. Daniel, 1938.
Kenneth, John H.
Osmics: The Science of Smell.
Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1924.
McKenzie, Dan.
Aromatics and the Soul.
London: William Heinemann, 1923.
Marks, Lawrence E.
The Unity of the Senses.
New York: Academic Press, 1978.
Moncrieff, R. W.
Odor Preferences.
London: Leonard Hill, 1966.
Watson, Lyall.
Jacobson's Organ
. New York: W. W. Norton, 2000.
Winter, Ruth.
The Smell Book
. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1976.
HORTICULTURE
Scattered among old books on gardening for fragrance are wonderful illustrations of herbs and flowers and lovely descriptions of their distinctive odors. My favorite in this group is Taylor's, with its treasure trove of delicate and detailed woodcuts.
The Book of the Scented Garden,
written at the turn of the century by the curator of Trinity College's botanical gardens, is a gem; an obviously well-read man, Burbidge mixes random facts with flowery poetry and recipes for scented goods.
Â
Burbidge, F. W.
The Book of the Scented Garden
. London: The Bodley Head Limited, 1905.
Fox, Helen Morgenthau.
Gardening with Herbs for Flavor and Fragrance.
New York: Dover, 1970.
McDonald, Donald.
Sweet Scented Flowers and Fragrant Leaves.
London: Sampson, Low, Marston, 1895.
Rohde, Eleanour Sinclair.
Rose Recipes from Olden Times.
New York: Dover, 1973.
Taylor, J. E.
Flowers: Their Origin
,
Shapes
,
Perfumes, and Colors
. Edinburgh: John Grant, 1906.
HERBALS AND PHARMACOPOELA
Long ago, the druggist, herbalist, and perfumer were the same person, and herbs and essential oils were among an apothecary's basic supplies.
The Druggist's General Receipt Book
is one of my favorites, where alongside remedies for ailing sheep can be found recipes for cough medicines containing opium, hair dyes containing lead, skin preparations with names like “Pâté Divine de Venus,” and various perfumes of the day.
Beasley, Henry.
The Druggist's General Receipt Book.
London: John Churchill, 1866.
Brown. Alice Cooke.
Early American Herb Recipes.
Rutland, VT: Charles Turtle, 1966.
Culpepper, Nicholas.
The English Physician.
Manchester, England: S. Russell, Deansgate, 1807.
Day, Ivan.
Perfumery with Herbs
. London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1979.
Grieve, Mrs. M.
A Modern Herbal
. New York: Dover, 1971.
Hiss, A. Emil, and Albert E. Ebert.
The New Standard Formulary
. Chicago: G. P. Engelhard, 1910.
Ody, Penelope.
The Complete Medicinal Herbal.
New York: Dorling Kindersley, 1993.
Salmon, William.
Bate's Dispensatory.
London: William and John Innys, 1720.
NATURAL ESSENCES
The
OED
of natural essences is the six-volume tome by Ernest Guenther. The catalogs of the Schimmels (who later became the Fritzsches) are filled with useful information, including their assessment of the lasting power of various essences. I quite love
The Volatile Oils,
which is based on the Schimmel reports and is filled with their beautiful hand-drawn maps showing the location of cloves in Zanzibar and various citruses in Italy.
Odorographia,
like its wonderful title, is a gem filled with very specialized and lovingly gathered information about fragrance materials.
Â
Fritzsche Brothers.
Perfumers Handbook and Catalog
. New York: Fritzsche Brothers, 1944.
Gildmeister, E., and Fr. Hoffmann.
The Volatile Oils
. Milwaukee, WI: Pharmaceutical Review, 1900.
Guenther, Ernest.
The Essential Oils.
Six volumes. New York: Van Nostrand, 1948-52.
Naves, Y. R., and G. Mazuyer.
Natural Perfume Materials
. New York: Reinhold, 1947.
Parry, Ernest J.
The Chemistry of Essential Oils.
London: Scott, Greenwood, 1899.
âââ.
Cyclopedia of Perfumery.
Two volumes. Philadelphia: Blakiston, 1925.
âââ.
The Raw Materials of Perfumery.
London: Sir Isaac Pitman, 1921.
Sawer, J. Ch.
Odorographia.
Two volumes. London: Gurney and Jackson, 1892 and 1894.
EARLY FORMULA BOOKS
Every book on this list is a treasure. Some have more interesting woodcuts (Sniveley), others better history (Cooley), and some a broader scope of recipes (Dussauce's
A Complete Treatise on Perfumery).
Charles Piesse's book, which is absolutely gorgeous, appears to have been largely lifted from his brother Septimus's much more famous volume.
Â
Askinson, George William.
Perfumes and Their Preparation
. New York: N. W. Henley, 1892.
Cooley, Arnold J.
Instructions and Cautions Respecting the Selection and Use of Perfumes
,
Cosmetics
,
and Other Toilet Articles.
Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1873.
Cristiani, R. S.
A Comprehensive Treatise on Perfumery.
Philadelphia: Henry Carey Baird, 1877.
Deite, C.
A Practical Treatise on the Manufacture of Perfumery.
Philadelphia: Henry Carey Baird, 1892.
Durvelle, J. P.
The Preparation of Perfumes and Cosmetics.
London: Scott, Greenwood and Son, 1923.
Dussauce, H.
A Complete Treatise on Perfumery.
Philadelphia: Henry Carey Baird, 1864.
âââ.
A Practical Guide for the Perfumer.
Philadelphia: Henry Carey Baird, 1868.
Martin, Geoffrey.
Perfumes, Essential Oils and Fruit Essences.
London: Crosby, Lockwood and Son, 1921.
Morfit, Campbell.
Perfumery: Its Manufacture and Use
. Philadelphia: Carey and Hart, 1847.
Piesse, Charles H.
The Art of Perfumery
. London: Piesse and Lubin, 1891.
Sniveley, John H.
A Treatise on the Manufacture of Perfumes and Kindred Articles.
Nashville, TN: Charles W. Smith, 1877.
Walter, Erich.
Manual for the Essence Industry
. New York: John Wiley, 1916.
MODERN PERFUMERY
Naturally, books on contemporary perfumery concentrate less on the naturals and more on the synthetics. Mary Lynne, a self-taught perfumer who practiced in the Midwest in the late 1960s and was passionate about her particular brand of straight oil perfumery, descends from a long line of eccentric solo practitioners. Paul Jellinek's book on the erogenous and antierogenous aspects of perfume, reissued after fifty years, holds up very well.
Perfumes: Art, Science
,
and
Technology
, the collection assembled by Müller and Lamparsky, contains the magnificent Roudnitska essay “The Art of Perfumery.”
Â
Calkin. Robert R., and J. Stephan Jellinek.
Perfumery.
New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1994.
Curtis, Tony, and David G. Williams.
Introduction to Perfumery.
London: Ellis Horwood, 1994.
Gattefossé, R. M.
Formulary of Perfumes and Cosmetics.
New York: Chemical Publishing, 1959.
Jellinek, Paul.
The Practice of Modern Perfumery.
London: Leonard Hill Ltd., 1959.
âââ.
The Psychological Basis of Perfumery.
Edited by J. Stephan Jellinek. London: Chapman and Hall, 1997.
Lynne, Mary.
Galaxy of Scents.
Kila, MT: Kessinger, 1994.
Maurer, Edward.
Perfumes and Their Production
. London: United Trade Press, 1958.
Miller, Richard, and Iona Miller.
The Magical and Ritual Uses of Perfumes
. Rochester, VT: Destiny Books, 1990.
Moncrieff, R. W.
The Chemistry of Perfumery Materials.
London: United Trade Press, 1949.
Müller. P. M., and D. Lamparsky, eds.
Perfumes: Art, Science, and Technology.
London: Elsevier, 1991.
Van Toller, Steve, and George Dodd.
Perfumery: The Psychology and Biology of Fragrance.
London: Chapman and Hall, 1988.
AROMATHERAPY
Aromatherapy is a growing discipline with a voracious reading public, judging from the sheer volume of books in print on the subject. Some books concentrate more on health-related aspects (Tisserand, Valnet, Gattefossé). The aromatherapy books that are most useful to the perfumer are those that illuminate the aesthetic character of the essences and their influence on the emotions. I particularly like Julia Lawless's two books and the Damians' book. Battaglia's book is a thorough encyclopedia, and Fischer-Rizzi's is a user-friendly introduction.
Â
Battaglia, Salvatore.
The Complete Guide to Aromatherapy.
Queensland, Australia: The Perfect Potion, 1997.
Cunningham, Scott.
Magical Aromatherapy.
St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1992.
Damian, Peter, and Kate Damian.
Aromatherapy: Scent and Psyche
. Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press, 1995.
Davis, Patricia.
Aromatherapy AâZ.
Essex, England: C. W. Daniel, 1988.
âââ.
Subtle Aromatherapy
. Essex, England: C. W. Daniel, 1991.
Edwards, Victoria H.
The Aromatherapy Companion
. Pownal, VT: Storey Books, 1999.
Fischer-Rizzi, Suzanne.
Complete Aromatherapy Handbook
. New York: Sterling Publishing, 1990.
Gattefossé, René.
Gattefossé's Aromatherapy
. Essex, England: C. W. Daniel, 1993.
Jünemann, Monika.
Enchanting Scents
. Wilmot, WI: Lotus Light, 1988.
Keville, Kathy, and Mindy Green.
Aromatherapy: A Complete Guide to the Healing Art
. Freedom, CA: The Crossing Press, 1995.
Lawless, Julia.
Aromatherapy and the Mind.
London: Thorsons, 1994.
âââ.
The Complete Encyclopedia of Essential Oils
. Rockport, MA: Element, 1995.
Maury, Marguerite.
Marguerite Maury's Guide to Aromatherapy.
London: C. W. Daniel, 1989.
Miller, Richard, and Iona Miller.
The Magical and Ritual Use of Perfumes.
Rochester, VT: Destiny Books, 1990.
Mojay, Gabriel.
Aromatherapy for Healing the Spirit.
London: Gaia Books, 1996.
Price, Len.
Carrier Oils for Aromatherapy and Massage
. Stratford-upon-Avon, England: Riverhead, 1999.
Price, Shirley.
Aromatherapy Workbook.
London: Thorsons, 1993.
Rose, Jeanne.
The Aromatherapy Book
. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 1992.
âââ. 375
Essential Oils and Hydrosols.
Berkeley, CA: Frog Ltd., 1999.
Sellar, Wanda.
The Directory of Essential Oils
. Essex, England: C. W. Daniel, 1992.
Tisserand, Robert.
The Art of Aromatherapy
. Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press, 1977.
Valnet, Jean.
The Practice of Aromatherapy.
Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press, 1990.
Wildwood, Christine.
Create Your Own Perfumes.
London: Paitkus, 1994.
âââ.
Creative Aromatherapy
. London: Thorson's, 1993.
âââ.
The Encyclopedia of Aromatherapy
. Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press, 1996.
Worwood, Valerie Ann.
Aromantics.
New York: Bantam, 1993.
âââ.
The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy.
San Rafael, CA: New World Library, 1991.
âââ.
The Fragrant Heavens.
Novato, CA: New World Library, 1999.
âââ.
The Fragrant Mind.
London: Doubleday, 1995.