Osmothèque

The founding of the world's first international scent archive was initially proposed to the Société Française des Parfumeurs in 1976 by Jean Kerléo, then head perfumer at Jean Patou, in an effort to formally record and preserve the history of perfumery.Osmothèque. Paris: Comité français du parfum, 1990. Print Kerléo envisioned reconstituting various discontinued classics according to their original formulae, working in collaboration with the world's foremost perfumers and perfume houses.Dove, Roja. The Essence of Perfume. London: Black Dog, 2008. Print. An advisory committee was thus assembled, composed of experts Jean-François Blayn, Raymond Chaillan, Jean-Claude Ellena, Yuri Gutsatz, Jeannine Mongin, Raymond Pouliquen, Guy Robert and Henri Sebag.

After successfully reproducing the discontinued perfumes of Jean Patou, Jean Kerléo and his team were entrusted in 1986 with the formulae of the defunct F. Millot, among them the 1925 classic Crêpe de Chine by Jean Desprez.Le Guérer, Annick, and Le Louarn, Michel. Si le parfum m'était conté--. Paris: Garde-Temps, 2009. Print. Kerléo's reconstitution, completed a year later with perfumer Aimable Duhayon, impressed many within the industry, a major catalyst for the launch of the proposed scent archive. When in 1988 the project won the support of both the Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie de Versailles and the {{ill|Comité Français du Parfum|fr}}, a repository facility was provided on the premises of the Institut Supérieur International du Parfum, de la Cosmétique et de l'Aromatique alimentaire. There the Osmothèque was officially founded on 26 April 1990 with an initial collection of 400 perfumes, both those reproduced by the Osmothèque and those supplied by external perfumers at houses such as Chanel, Guerlain and Lanvin.[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6439429 Stone, Susan (November 5, 2006), "Perfume Gallery Preserves, Re-Creates Fragrances", All Things Considered (National Public Radio)]

File:Fougère_Royale_by_Paul_Parquet_-_Bottle.jpg's Fougère Royale (Houbigant) - 1884]]

The Osmothèque is the world's largest scent archive, storing over 3,000 perfumes from the past and present, all preserved at a constant temperature under argon gas.Turin, Luca. The Secret of Scent: Adventures in Perfume and the Science of Smell. New York City: HarperCollins, 2006. Print. Perfumes accepted into the collection are either those reconstituted using archived formulae by the Osmothèque's internal perfumers (known as osmocurators) or those supplied by external perfume houses.[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/style/tmagazine/24cmuseum.html?pagewanted=print&_r=0 Burr, Chandler (February 24, 2008), "L'Heir Du Temps", T: New York Times Style Magazine (New York Times Company)] As a legal deposit archive, the Osmothèque receives a supply of all new perfumes produced in France and much of the world, in addition to those obtained through its program for content acquisitions.[http://www.beautyfashion.com/archives/LOsmotheque.html Colton, Sarah, "L’Osmothèque—Preserving The Past To Ensure The Future", Beauty Fashion] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615174831/http://www.beautyfashion.com/archives/LOsmotheque.html |date=2010-06-15 }} The role of chief archivist was filled by Patricia de Nicolaï, having assumed the presidency of the Osmothèque from Jean Kerléo in 2008.[http://perfumeshrine.blogspot.fr/2009/01/losmotheque-veritable-vault-of-perfume.html “L'Osmotheque, a veritable vault of perfume memory”. Perfume Shrine. Web. 7 January 2009.] This role had since been passed to the current President, Thomas Fontaine, with Vice President Christopher Sheldrake assisting, since July 2020.

The institution also maintains a substantial reference library of fragrance bases and aromatic sources, both natural and synthetic, historical and contemporary, as well as a vault inaccessible to the public containing historical perfume formulae, many unusable due to a lack of corresponding raw materials.Burr, Chandler. The Perfect Scent: A Year Inside the Perfume Industry in Paris and New York. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2008. Print.

Rarities from the Osmothèque's collections include examples of ancient perfumery, such as the Parfum Royal of the Parthian kings as described by Pliny the Elder in the 1st century, medieval toilet waters such as the 14th century Eau de la reine de Hongrie of Elizabeth of Poland and 18th century powders such as the Poudre de Chypre.[http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-osmotheque Bataineh, Madiha, Byron and Nicholas Jackson. “The Osmotheque”. Atlas Obscura. Web.]

Equally unique is a major collection of 19th century perfumes from leading houses such as Farina, Guerlain, Houbigant, Lubin, F. Millot, L. T. Piver and Roger & Gallet.Patricia de Nicolai - The Osmothèque. Alliance Française USA. Web. Also from the period is the eau de cologne made for Napoleon in 1815 during his exile on Saint Helena.Newman, Cathy. Perfume: The Art and Science of Scent. [Washington, D.C.]: National Geographic Society, 1998. Print.

The largest portion of the Osmothèque's archives is devoted to modern perfumery (beginning in the late 19th century), presenting innumerable original masterpieces now discontinued or reformulated, including:Turin, Luca (September 2005), "Le Parfum Idéal", Zürich: NZZ FolioVisit to The Osmotheque Perfume Museum in Versailles. Bois de Jasmin. Web. 7 December 2012.

The Osmothèque maintains an active website, including an online database detailing the institution's collections.[http://www.osmotheque.fr/ Osmothèque - Conservatoire international des parfums. Official website. Web. 18 June 2013.]

Various conferences for professionals, researchers, students and members of the public are regularly offered at the Osmothèque's headquarters in Versailles, as well as at conference centers at the Galerie de Nicolaï in Paris and the Academy of Perfumery & Aromatics in New York City.Turin, Luca, and Tania Sanchez. The Little Book of Perfumes: The 100 Classics. London: Profile, 2011. Print.{{Cite web |url=http://www.versailles-tourisme.com/decouvrir/versailles-insolite/losmotheque.html |title=L'Osmothèque. Office de tourisme de Versailles. Web. 18 June 2013. |access-date=18 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921033956/http://www.versailles-tourisme.com/decouvrir/versailles-insolite/losmotheque.html |archive-date=21 September 2013 |url-status=dead }} In addition, the Osmothèque frequently organizes partner exhibitions and conferences with museums around the world, including the Carrousel du Louvre, the Palace of Versailles and the Smithsonian Institution.

The Osmothèque also publishes books on the subject of perfume, in addition to a bilingual periodical titled Les Nouvelles de l’Osmothèque, available online and at the Osmothèque's bookshop.{{Cite web |url=http://www.parfumeurs-createurs.org/gene/main.php?base=514 |title=Osmothèque. Société Française des Parfumeurs. Web. 18 June 2013. |access-date=18 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102025125/http://www.parfumeurs-createurs.org/gene/main.php?base=514 |archive-date=2 November 2013 |url-status=dead }}

• Archives nationales (France)
• Bibliothèque nationale de France
• Library of Congress
• National Archives and Records Administration
• List of archives

{{reflist|2}}

• {{in lang|fr}} [http://www.osmotheque.fr/ The Osmothèque – Official website]
• {{in lang|fr}} [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qHVNxVn_Eo "L'Osmothèque de Versailles" – Film presentation (YouTube)]
• {{in lang|en}} [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/style/tmagazine/24cmuseum.html?pagewanted=all "L’Heir du Temps" – Article by Chandler Burr (T: The New York Times Style Magazine)]
• {{in lang|en}} [http://folio.nzz.ch/2005/august/perfume-museum "The Perfume Museum" – Article by Luca Turin (Neue Zürcher Zeitung Folio)]

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Category:1990 establishments in France

Category:Archives in France

Category:Buildings and structures in Versailles

Category:Libraries in France

Category:Perfumery

Category:Organizations based in Île-de-France

Category:Libraries established in 1990