But increasingly, technology is making it possible, and historians, scientists, and perfumers are now taking the idea of smells as historical artifacts more seriously. They argue that it’s time to delve into our olfactory past, trying harder to understand how people experienced the world with their noses - and even save scents for posterity. Their efforts have already made it possible to smell fragrances worn a century ago, to re-create the smell of a rare flower even if it goes extinct, and to better understand the smells that ancient cultures appreciated or detested.
— From A Whiff of History at the Boston Globe.
Very interesting article and especially exciting to see that Christian Laudamiel is realizing his goal of bringing reference perfumes from the Osmothèque to New York City by creating an Academy of Perfumery and Aromatics that will represent the Osmotheque in the United States. Hooray!!
I’m going to hold my excitement until I hear more — how extensive it will be, and will it be open to the public at all? We’ll see!