A Brief History

The House of Guerlain is one of the oldest perfume houses in the world. It was founded in 1828 when Pierre-Francois Pascal Guerlain came from his native Picardy to seek his fortune in Paris. He opened up his first boutique on the ground floor of the Hôtel Meurice at 42, Rue de Rivoli in Paris, where he had registered as a licensed "Parfumeur-Vinaigrier," (perfume and vinegar manufacturer)

Pierre-Francois Guerlain was born to 

Louis François Guerlain and Marie Marguerite Augustine Dairaine. He married Louise Adélaide Boulay on  May 15, 1830 in Paris. They had three daughters: Alix, Edith and Eugénie Catherine as well as five sons: Gabriel, Auguste, Edouard, Abel, and Aimé.

Pierre-Francois, like all perfumers of his day, would have had books on perfumery at his disposal, these were training manuals on how to distill essences and vinegars, and contained formulas for extracts, colognes and the preparations of various cosmetics and other toiletries. The most famous of them all was published by Simon Barbe. His "Le Parfumeur Royal" was first published in 1699 and was the usual treatise used by subsequent parfumeurs. 

Other perfumer's manuals may have included the following:

• Delightes for Ladies by Hugh Plat, from 1609
• Pharmacopoia Bateana, from 1706
• The Toilet of Flora by J. Murray, from 1779
• The new family receipt book by John Murray, from 1810
• The British Perfumer: by Colin Mackenzie, from1822
• Dictionnaire de la beauté by César Gardeton, from 1826

Pierre-Francois would have consulted these basic formulas and added or subtracted ingredients to his own taste. Many of the formulas may have been renamed something else by him to imply they were his own creations, separate himself from other perfumers or to appear more exotic to the public. That is not to say that he did not create his own formulas, but most perfumers of the day had formularies on which to compose their products. Some of these perfumes had common names such as:

• Jockey Club
• Ess. Bouquet
• Peau d'Espagne
• Chypre
• Cuir de Russie
• Maréchal
• Upper Ten
• Mille Fleurs
• Bouquet d'Esterhazy
• New Mown Hay
• Mousseline
• West End
• Flowers of Italy
• Alpine Bouquet
• Spring Flowers
• Eau Imperiale
• Windsor Bouquet
• Bouquet de la Reine
• Prince of Wales Bouquet
• Bouquet de Caroline

Like Guerlain, perfumers around the world all had basic extracts such as:

• Frangipani
• Jasmine
• Orange Blossom
• Musk
• Patchouli
• Rose
• Ylang Ylang
• Jonquil
• Neroli
• Lily of the Valley
• Geranium
• Ambergris
• Magnolia
• Narcissus
• Lilac
• Opoponax
• Reseda
• Lavender
• Violet
• Honeysuckle
• Verbena
• Gardenia
• Heliotrope
• Vetiver
• Sandalwood
• Sweet Pea
• Tuberose
• Hyacinth
• Carnation
• Iris

Pierre-Francois composed and manufactured custom perfumes with the help of his two sons, Aime & Gabriel. His unique approach was to personalize perfume for a specific person, place or event such as the installation of a new president, the coronation or wedding of a royal or the opening of a new landmark. Honore de Balzac commissioned his own special eau de toilette during the writing of Cesar Birotteau, and the periodical La Sylphide, le Journal des Elegances, scented each issue with a different fragrance by Guerlain.

Guerlain catered to the high society of Paris, and obtained a very loyal following. The perfume house was so successful that Guerlain decided to open a flagship store at 15, Rue de la Paix in Paris in 1840. 

Petit courrier des dames, 1848: "SAPOCETI is a whale blubber soap designed to whiten and soften the skin, prepared by GUERLAIN and patented. Previously located at 12 rue de Rivoli, the current address is 11 rue de la Paix.

Saponified cetine (whale blubber) offers the advantage of producing a perfectly odorless product that absorbs even the most delicate fragrances without altering them. It retains the pearly appearance of whale blubber and its skin-softening properties. Highly soluble in even the least alkaline water, SAPOCETI produces a creamy, denser lather compared to other soaps. These qualities make it the softest and most pleasant toiletry soap available."

The house was at its peak in 1853 with it's fragrance Eau de Cologne Imperiale. This perfume gained Guerlain the prestigious title of His Majesty's Official Perfumer of France. This in turn led him to create perfumes for other royals such as Queen Victoria of England, the Empress Sissi of Austria, the Queen of Belgium and Queen Isabella of Spain as well as other crowned heads of royalty.

Pierre-Francois passed away on November 2, 1864 and his sons inherited the perfume house. Aime became the master perfumer, a tradition that would be upheld for the next master perfumer in lineage. Gabriel managed and further expanded the house. Aime, created several fragrances for the perfume house, these include Fleur d'Italie, Rococo, and Eau de Cologne du Coq and his greatest creation, Jicky, in 1889.

In 1875, Aime Guerlain sought to patent his "Woman Flags" logo for the house of Guerlain in Great Britain. In 1893, it was trademarked in France.

Maison Guerlain participated in several fairs and exhibitions and was awarded medals for perfumery: London in 1862 , Paris in 1867 and in 1873, Guerlain received a medal of merit at the Universal Exposition held in Vienna. Guerlain won a silver medal for their perfumes at the Melbourne Exhibition of 1882. Aimé Guerlain, President of the Chambre Syndicale de perfume; juror exhibitions of 1878 and 1889, participated in the Moscow exhibition in 1892.
 

UNIVERSAL INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF 1900:

"The list would be too long of all the specialties of the Guerlain house, which dates back to 1788 [sic]. We will only mention among the many products contained in its salon the old creations: Excellence,  Heliotrope Blanc, Imperial Russe, Pre d'Automne, Eau de Cologne Impériale, Poudre de Cypris, Pâte Royale, and among the very recent creations: Gavotte, a very fresh summer perfume, le Jardin de Mon Curé, le Bon Vieux Temps, l'Eau de Cologne Hégémonienne, l'Extrait de Pot-pourri aux Plantes Marines, Voilà Pourquoi j'Aimais Rosine.

All these perfumes were displayed on consoles and pedestal tables and some were presented bare to show the intrinsic value of the products. Guerlain manufactures exclusively luxury perfumery. Awards at previous exhibitions: medal at London in 1862, medal at Paris in 1867, out of competition member of the Jury at Paris in 1878, out of competition member of the Jury at Antwerp in 1885, out of competition member of the Jury 

at Paris in 1889, Grand Prix at Brussels in 1897."

In 1914, Guerlain moved to 68, Champs-Elysees Paris. The business was then handed down to Gabriel's sons, Jacques & Pierre Guerlain. Jacques became the third master perfumer and created many fragrances in his lifetime. His creations include Eau de Coq, L'Heure Bleue, Apres L'Ondee, Shalimar, Vol de Nuit, Ode, and Mitsouko. These perfumes were so successful that some are still sold today.

1930s:

In 1939, Jean Michel Frank gave the Institut Guerlain in Paris an updated look both inside and out, with simple, utilitarian furnishings by Chanaux & Cie. The painter Christian Bérard, was hired by Frank to design trompe-l'oeil effects to simulate Neo-Classical architectural panels on the walls of the boutique. To suggest natural shadows and light, used hues of white, black, mauve and grey, which fooled the eye and provided a three dimensional effect.

The four images below illustrate the elegance created by Jean Michel Frank.

Using the trompe l'oeil mural design, Margarita Classen-Smith, a well-known textile artist and restorer, painstakingly cut pieces of grosgrain ribbon to mimic the brushstrokes of Berard's design and then handsewn them onto sunny yellow felt. These surrealist fabric panels were then hung onto the walls as "wall paper" where they still hang today.

Later years:

Jacques grandson, Jean-Paul Guerlain is the fourth generation master perfumer and has authored

several perfumes and men's colognes including Vetiver, Habit Rouge, Samsara, Nahema, Jardins de Bagatelle and many others. “A good perfume sells anywhere and everywhere,” claimed Jean Paul Guerlain in 1983 (Product Marketing and Cosmetic & Fragrance Retailing).

Today Thierry Wasser is Guerlain's newest perfumer in charge.