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Odorographia: a Natural History of Raw Materials and Drugs used in the Perfume Industry

Abstract

CONSIDERING the importance of the subject of perfumes both from a scientific and a commercial point of view, it is somewhat surprising that a really good and authoritative book dealing on the matters encompassed by “Odorographia” has not before been attempted. The delay in the appearance of such a work is probably due to the fact that but few persons possess the requisite knowledge to treat the subject in a thoroughly satisfactory manner in all its bearings, such as the origin and production of the numerous products, whether animal or vegetable, and the chemical aspect of every substance and its commercial value, which are points that could scarcely be expected to be mastered by one mind. In the “Pharmacographia” of Flückiger and Hanbury, two mater minds on the subject of drugs were brought into co-operation, with the result that a most satisfactory and standard work on medicinal plants was produced. That this book was in the mind of the author when he compiled his “Odorographia,” and selected its title, is quite apparent, and we are bound to say that on the whole he has done his work remarkably well, though we wish that he had adhered more strictly to the lines of his pattern. Mr. Sawer, however, at the very commencement of his preface, is so modest as to say that “an endeavour has here been made to collect together into one manual the information which has hitherto been only obtainable by reference to an immense number of works and journals, English and foreign, in many cases inaccessible to readers interested in the subject,” and that he is thoroughly well acquainted with all that has been written is apparent not only from a glance through the pages, where numerous references occur, but also from the “List of Principal Works referred to.” Besides this the author has, as he tells us, obtained information first hand from some of the largest perfume-plant growers and manufacturers of Grasse, Nice, and localities in the Straits Settlements and West Indies. The difficulties attending the compilation of a work of this nature have, no doubt, been very great, because scraps of information are so widely dispersed, and even when found often times very confusing. The botany alone of the subject must have occupied a considerable amount of time in looking up, the plants yielding perfumes being natives of various parts of the globe, and consequently described in the several floras appertaining to those special countries, besides which the chemical and commercial aspects occupy a large portion of the book.

Odorographia: a Natural History of Raw Materials and Drugs used in the Perfume Industry.

By J. Ch. Sawer (London: Gurney and Jackson, 1892.)

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Odorographia: a Natural History of Raw Materials and Drugs used in the Perfume Industry. Nature 47, 52–53 (1892). https://doi.org/10.1038/047052a0

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