• About
  • Login to comment
    • Facebook
    • RSS
    • Twitter

Now Smell This

a blog about perfume

Menu ▼
  • Perfume Reviews
  • New Perfumes
  • Perfumers
  • Perfume Houses
  • Shop for perfume
  • Resources

Perfume Book Report: Scents of Time by Edwin T Morris

Posted by Robin on 20 September 2005 6 Comments

Edwin Morris Scents of TimeScents of Time, subtitled Perfume From Ancient Egypt to the 21st Century, is a gift set that was published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1999. An outer box sleeve opens to reveal the book along with eight perfume minatures developed by Givaudan to illustrate the "most influential scents in history": frankincense, rose, sandalwood jasmine, orange blossom, spice, eau de cologne, millefleurs, and sportif.

The text provides a nicely illustrated survey of perfume history. A short introductory chapter introduces the major scent families, along with some basic production techniques and perfume terminology. Subsequent chapters explore various times and cultures: first ancient times in the Fertile Crescent, then the classical world of Greece and Rome, the East (including early Islamic perfumery and India), and East Asia. Most of the second half of the book is devoted to the development of perfumery in the West, from the Middle Ages to the present day.

It is not a long book (111 pages), and because of the large number of illustrations, the text is relatively brief, but it does provide a useful introduction to the subject, and the fragrances, while basic, would be useful to a novice. They are nicely packaged with plastic stoppers beneath the caps to prevent leakage, and mine have held up very well.

I am fairly sure this book is no longer in print, but I had no trouble locating a copy last year.

Filed Under: perfume books
Tagged With: edwin morris, perfume history

Advertisement


6 Comments

Leave a comment, or read more about commenting at Now Smell This. Here's our privacy policy, and a handy emoticon chart.

  1. Anonymous says:
    20 September 2005 at 11:52 am

    What a coincidence! I just ordered this last week and got the package today. I'm pretty excited about the little vials, I must admit. I scored a pristine copy for $18.44 (including S&H) from an Amazon Marketplace seller. Looking forward to cracking it open tonight.

    Log in to Reply
  2. Anonymous says:
    20 September 2005 at 12:16 pm

    It's readily available on amazon used, ebay, etc. It's a sweet little book, and bless them for trying to illustrate the scents of history, but they're all synthetic and smell flat, IMO.

    Log in to Reply
  3. Anonymous says:
    20 September 2005 at 12:59 pm

    T, that was a good buy. Can't remember what I paid for mine, but I am sure it was not less than that.

    Log in to Reply
  4. Anonymous says:
    20 September 2005 at 1:00 pm

    A, agree, as I said above, the scents will be useful for a novice though. If you didn't know what orange blossom smelled like, now you will know…but none of them are fragrances that I was dying to have a full bottle of.

    Log in to Reply
  5. Anonymous says:
    21 September 2005 at 9:06 am

    I have a copy of this book and I really enjoy it! It's a simple but well written overview, illustrated with wonderful images of antique bottles, incense burners, related fashions, etc., and depictions of the uses of fragrance throughout history — including many works from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collections.

    Log in to Reply
  6. Anonymous says:
    21 September 2005 at 10:13 am

    The illustrations really are well-done, which is not always the case in perfume books…

    Log in to Reply

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Advertisement

Search

From NST at Twitter

  • "The Body Shop expands UberEats delivery partnership" (cosmeticsbusiness) https://t.co/vmfZORv2zb, 3 hours ago
  • "Issey Miyake, influential Japanese fashion designer, dies aged 84" (cnn style) https://t.co/ClABlF4b1y, 5 hours ago
  • "Petrichor: the scent of the Earth after it rains" (surfertoday) https://t.co/2sfRSIz9dJ, 5 hours ago
  • "People Are Drawn To Others With Similar Body Odor" (discover) https://t.co/kB3xVttlKY,
  • "The Future Smells Like Chanel No. 5" (growing roses in Grasse; the cut) https://t.co/9dNU2YzQnm,

Browse by…

Topic

Perfume talk New fragrances
Shopping Books :: News
Body products Home fragrance
Polls Another subject

Date

July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
Prior months

Author

Robin Jessica
Angela Kevin
Erin Guest Author

Tag

Celebrity perfumes
Cheap thrills
Collector bottles
Perfumista tip series
Video
The complete tag index

Recent reviews

Atelier Cologne Love Osmanthus
Moschino Toy Boy
Arquiste Misfit
Diptyque Eau Capitale
Zoologist Bee
Parfum d’Empire Immortelle Corse
Comme des Garcons Series 10 Clash
Frédéric Malle Rose & Cuir
L’Artisan Parfumeur Le Chant de Camargue
Yves Saint Laurent Grain de Poudre
Régime des Fleurs Chloë Sevigny Little Flower
Chanel 1957
Gallivant Los Angeles
Amouage Portrayal Woman

Blogroll

Bois de Jasmin
Grain de Musc
Perfume Posse
The Non-Blonde
More blogs...

Perfumista lists

100 fragrances every perfumista should try
And 25 more fragrances every perfumista should smell
50 masculine fragrances every perfumista should try
26 vintage fragrances every perfumista should try
25 rose fragrances every perfumista should try
11 Cheap Perfumes Beauty Outsiders Love

Favorite posts

The Great Perfume Reduction Plan
Why I Love Old School Chypres
New to perfume and want to learn more?
How to make fragrance last through the day
Fragrance concentrations: sorting it all out
On reformulations, or why your favorite perfume doesn’t smell like it used to
How to get fragrance samples
Perfume for Life: How Long Will Your Fragrance Collection Last?

Upcoming

TBA September ~ fall swapmeet

TBA October ~ fall splitmeet

List of upcoming Friday projects

Back to Top

Home
About Now Smell This :: Privacy Policy

Shop for Perfume Online
Perfume Shopping in New York
Perfume Shopping in London
Perfume Reviews
New Perfumes
General Perfume Articles
The Monday Mail

Glossary of Perfume Terms
Perfume FAQ
Perfume Links
Perfume Books
Fragrance Awards

Noses ~ Perfumers A-E :: F-K :: L-S :: T-Z

Perfume Houses A-B :: C :: D-E :: F-G
H-J :: K-L :: M :: N-O :: P :: Q-R :: S
T :: U-Z

Copyright © 2005-2022 Now Smell This. All rights reserved.