Born in 1856, Paul Marie Parquet would have studied chemistry as an autodidact after having inherited his father’s company in 1880, with Alfred Javal – a businessman who had previously worked for the Violet house. He is described as having “an open, frank countenance; the face is adorned with the mustache; the expressive features, surmounted by a brilliant look of insight, and the medium, well-proportioned stature, announce one of those temperaments of constant greenness and proven robustness » [1] and loved by its employees.
Various facts report a youthful passion with a certain Rose Chervey, who at the end of their relationship in 1882, out of desperation, shot him twice. Fortunately, he has no sequelae and is released that same year. royal fern, which will be a milestone. The creation is indeed admirable in a triple sense: the initial “fern” of perfumery and therefore the pioneer of a decisive olfactory form (combination of bergamot, lavender and coumarin), it is also one of the first not to consist of the reproduction of an odor present in nature and it is one of the first compositions to contain these synthetic raw materials which have since revolutionized the history of perfumery. Maupassant’s favorite perfumer is also recognized by his peers: in an article from 1946, Ernest Beaux said of him: “The greatest perfumer of his time, Mr. Parquet, created L’Idéal, la Fougère royale and le Cœur de Jeannette, admirable perfumes”. [2]
In 1890, Houbigant was appointed perfumer to the Imperial Court of Russia by Tsar Alexander III and the brand supplied the Imperial family until 1917.
According to Robert Bienaimé, who succeeded him in 1912, his greatest creation was The ideal Perfume, “a harmonious masterpiece of balance, finesse and taste” [3], released in 1900, when he obtained a Gold Medal in Paris. The perfumer then lives at 68, boulevard Maillot in Neuilly. Foreign trade adviser, member of the perfumery trade union chamber, treasurer of the Franco-Brazilian central initiative and propaganda committee, he won the Grand Prix de Liège in 1905 and the Legion of Honor in 1908. Thanks to him, Houbigant is gaining international recognition and experiencing strong growth.
When he died of cancer at the end of the spring of 1916, his wife Elisa Haley had the Paul Parquet Foundation built in his honor, which still exists.
Non-exhaustive perfumegraphy
royal fern1882
Skin of Spain1894
Perfume of Argeville1895
Royal cyclamen, The Ideal Perfume, Jockey Club, Cœur de Jeannette1900
My delights, Royal Bouvardia1904
Carnation of the Roy1906
purple violet1907
France1911
And you, have you ever smelled Paul Parquet perfumes?
Indicative bibliography
National Archives
Rosine Lheureux, A History of Perfumers: France 1850-1910Champ Vallon
Robert Bienaimé, “A great figure in French perfumery: Paul Parquet”, in Industrie de la Parfumerie, Oct. 1955.
Ernest Beaux, “Memories of a Perfumer”, in Perfume industryoct. 1946, p.228-231.
Main visual: commons.wikimedia.org, source: Osmothèque
Fern Royale advertising visual: etsy.com
–
