Perfumes of Animal Origin - Ambergris, Civet, Musk

Antique Perfume: An Excerpt from a Nineteenth-Century Perfumery Manual

W. Septimus Piesse’s The Art of Perfumery, and Method of Obtaining the Odors of Plants (1857) stands as one of the foundational texts in the history of perfumery, particularly in the development of natural fragrance practice. Written at a time when perfumery was transitioning from artisanal tradition to a more systematic discipline, the work bridges empirical observation with early chemical understanding.

Piesse not only catalogues plant-derived aromatics and methods of extraction, but also articulates principles of composition, famously proposing analogies between scent and musical harmony, that continue to influence how perfumers think about structure and balance. For natural perfumery, the book is especially significant: it documents a pre-synthetic olfactory world, detailing materials, tinctures, and techniques rooted entirely in botanical and animal sources. As such, it serves both as a historical record and a practical reference, offering insight into how fragrance was conceived, constructed, and experienced before the advent of modern aroma chemicals.