black and white photograph, a group of people sit at long tables working on separating flower petals.
Story

The fragrance factory

Roure-Bertrand Fils and the perfume industry in Grasse

Discover these vintage photographs exploring how perfume fragrances go from field to factory

by
Adrian Murphy (opens in new window) (Europeana Foundation)

When we spray on perfume, how often do we think about how the fragrance was made?

The process to extract fragrances and oils from flowers is a perfect blend of nature, science and industry, as illustrated beautifully by this short book about Roure-Bertrand Fils factory in Grasse, France.

dark navy cover of a book with gold text.

Perfume and scents have been worn by people for centuries, becoming an industry in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Grasse - a world capital of perfume - was home to the perfumerie of Roure-Bertrand Fils whose origins date back to 1820.

black and white photograph of the exterior of a factory.

Roure-Bertrand provided essential oils from aromatic plants to create fragrances for other brands, who mix, blend, bottle and sell the perfume.

The firm's technical and scientific innovation in extracting oils and essences helped establish them as a leader in modern perfumery. In 1900, Roure Bertrand Fils was presented with a grand prize at the Universal Exposition in Paris.

This book - part of the digitised collections of the Bibliothèque nationale de France - dates from then, and contains 30 photographs illustrating the process from flower field to bottled perfume.

This selection shows highlights of the process - you can also browse the full book here.

black and white photograph of workers picking flowers in a large field.

Workers in the flower fields around Grasse are picking roses.

black and white photograph, large piles of flowers in a factory with workers in the background.

Once picked, the flowers are brought into the factory. Here 3000 kilograms of violets have arrived.

black and white photograph, a group of people sit at long tables working on separating flower petals.

In the factory, worker painstakingly separate the flowers - here they are working on roses.

black and white photograph, large piles of flowers being placed in machines by workers.

Oils from flowers are extracted by distillation. Here, workers are placing geraniums in the machinery.

black and white photograph, workers standing among rows of large wooden frames.

The distilled oils are cooled - here, the employees are working on jasmine ointments.

black and white photograph, three men in a chemistry laboratory.

Roure-Bertrand were a leader in modern perfumery, developing many new scientific techniques.

black and white photograph, bottles on a shelf.

The bottled flower essences were sold to perfumers who mix them in a blend.

Discover related stories