Includes index

Aromatic Atlantis -- Getting to the essence -- Perfume organ -- The flower family -- Ambergris -- Theatrum Botanicum -- The woods family -- Botanical treasure boxes -- Civet -- The leaves and grasses family -- Beautiful business -- Wood of the Gods -- The resins family -- Symbolorum et emblematum -- Musk -- The spice family -- Cabinet of curiosities -- Hyraceum -- The citrus family -- Floral reverie -- Castoreum -- The gourmand family -- Maker's knowledge -- Onycha -- The herbal family -- The Rimmel Collection -- Marie Antoinette au Revoir -- The national isolates family -- Aromatic magic

"An illustrated book on the natural and cultural history of scent, inspired by the Aftel Archive of Curious Scents"--

As an artisanal perfumer, Aftel works with aromatic ingredients from all over. She set up her own perfume business and developed a following, but in addition to searching for the best essences, she was drive to know their origins: where they came from, who used them, how, and what for. Here she helps readers explore fragrances, and their interweaving of botany, history, religious customs, beauty, and herbal medicine. Aftel also shares from her collection of postcards and books, showing how bottle labels, recipes, and paintings of the extracting essences reflected how precious beauty was in people's lives. -- adapted from pages 8-12, Aromatic Atlantis