Amelia Russell

First published in Victorian Britain, The Art of Perfumery, and Methods of Obtaining the Odors of Plants is both manual and manifesto. Piesse explains how to capture plant odors by steam distillation, maceration, enfleurage, and alcoholic tinctures, then organizes them into an olfactory taxonomy culminating in his famed scent-music analogy, a compositional scale. In crisp, practical prose he surveys materials from rose and jasmine to benzoin and vetiver, gives working formulae, notes apparatus and yields, and warns against adulteration, situating perfumery between craft practice and the new organic chemistry.
G. W. Septimus Piesse, a London perfumer-chemist associated with the fashionable Bond Street trade, wrote from shop-floor experience and close reading of contemporary science. Eager to elevate his craft, he proposed an ordered scale of odors and translated tacit knowledge about solvents, fats, and volatility into teachable rules, reflecting a Victorian passion for classification and for reconciling industry with aesthetics.
This classic suits historians of science and scent, students of Victorian material culture, and practicing perfumers alike. Read it for reliable procedures, period formulas, and, above all, a rigorous way to think about accords, fixatives, and longevity. Quickie Classics summarizes timeless works with precision, preserving the author's voice and keeping the prose clear, fast, and readable-distilled, never diluted.
Enriched Edition extras: Introduction · Synopsis · Historical Context · Brief Analysis · 4 Reflection Q&As · Editorial Footnotes.