Culture | On the scent

Two perfumers helped lay the foundations of organic chemistry

“Elixir” is an account of scientific discovery as well as a cultural history of perfume

XIR154617 The Perfumer\'s Costume (colour engraving) by Bonnart, Nicolas (c.1646-1718); Musee de la Ville de Paris, Musee Carnavalet, Paris, France; (add.info.: Street vendor selling perfume and cosmetics, including one of the most popular 18th century perfumes, mille-fleurs, also Hungary water, orange flower perfume and soaps from Naples;). — Stop and sell the rosesImage: Bridgeman

Apr 19th 2023

By day, Édouard Laugier and Auguste Laurent worked in the back room of Laugier Père et Fils, a Parisian perfumery established by Laugier’s grandfather. Surrounded by boilers and flasks, they distilled the cinnamon, mint, orange peel and rose that were among the base materials for the scents and tonics sold by the shop. After hours, the two men, who had met on the left bank in Paris in the early 1830s, and who shared a passion for chemistry, turned to an enigma that had baffled the brightest minds in Europe.

This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “On the scent”