Jonathan Reinarz > Quotes

“George William Septimus Piesse (1820–1882), who translated music into smell and back again in his seminal work, The Art of Perfumery (1857). His odophone, or smell organ, consisted of perfume atomizers activated by piano keys, with heavy odors corresponding to low notes and sharp odors to the highest notes; a mixture of scents was referred to as a “bouquet,” and a good perfume was one that was not out of “tune.” Although his musical instrument may have been largely forgotten, his ideas have endured in modern perfumery with distinctive odors being referred to as “notes” and perfumers’ workbenches called “organs.”
― Jonathan Reinarz, Past Scents: Historical Perspectives on Smell