Guest Blog: M. J. Rose

Today, a guest post by M. J. Rose as part of The Book of Lost Fragrances blog tour:  

M.J. Rose:  I've been fascinated with lost fragrances since long before I started writing The Book of Lost Fragrances... since I found a bottle of perfume on my great grandmother's dresser that had belonged to her mother in Russia. Here is one of those lost fragrances that stirs the senses and the imagination... (researched and described  with the help of the perfume writer Dimitrios Dimitriadis)

VIGNY - LE GOLLIWOGG

"Golliwoggs" were popularised in the late 19th and early 20th century by the illustrated books of British writer Florence Kate Upton. Though perhaps not her intention, her books contributed to the widespread use of the racial slur 'wog' - a word applied to dark-skinned people the world over. In the 1920's the Golliwogg character was reprised again by French perfumers Vigny, who created Le Golliwogg, a figural flacon with sealskin hair used to decorate the stopper.

Once regarded as a charming and humorous perfume presentation, the nature of the juice itself (a brisk floral with ambery, mossy nuances) is almost lost to what we nowadays recognise as it's rather indelicate packaging. Nevertheless, Le Golliwogg is highly sought after as a perfume presentation that speaks of an era typifying modes of thought that many once considered de rigeur.

This perfume is long out of production, leaving one to ponder if perhaps it is for the best.

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Our thanks to M.J. Rose for this insight into the research surrounding her novel.  Jenn reviewed The Book of Lost Fragrances last week, and you can find her review here.