Writing about smells is like putting music into words. That is why researchers only recently got to the scientific analysis of odors and their place in cultures – the object is too fragile and volatile. But without smells it is impossible to imagine the atmosphere of the era.
Writing about smells is like putting music into words. That is why researchers only recently got to the scientific analysis of odors and their place in cultures – the object is too fragile and volatile. But without smells it is impossible to imagine the atmosphere of the era. The articles of the two-volume anthology compiled by Doctor of Arts Olga Weinstein and published in the Culture of Everyday series discuss various facets of this topic. For example, the composition of the “food of the gods” – incense used in ancient Greek sacrifices – or the role of smells in medieval society, the French Versailles and the Russian estate, the curious “range of aromas” of Septimus Piesse (he found sound correspondences to smells) and even the history of shit (a book with published in France in 1978). There is also a story about the creation of Chanel No. 5 and the reincarnation of the “Empress’s Bouquet” in “Red Moscow”. Well, if you are wondering what English ladies smelled like a century and a half ago, read the recipes for perfumes of the Victorian era. By the way, you can cook them even at home.
UFO, 616 p., 672 p.