Showing posts with label Louis XIV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Louis XIV. Show all posts

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Douglas Hopkins of The Perfume Factory

Long time fashion (including perfume) photographer,  previously a scientific photographer at MIT catching exploding volcanoes on film ... The Berlin Wall falls ... Douglas Hopkins click here visits some Russian perfume factories with a perfume chemist friend. He then goes to Poland, smells  Prastarah and proceeds to buy the world rights. Full story on the scent, with some age to it, that crosses Polish and French Royalty history click here.

From the site: Prastara has been produced in Europe continuously since 1848, a Latin manuscript was more recently discovered in the attic of an 800 year old Polish soap factory in Lodz shortly after WWII. This may be the specific indication of its origin, from the fact that Louis’ mistress, who later became his last wife, was of Polish royalty.

"A kissing distance whisper."


Saturday, May 15, 2010

Gardens, Gardeners & Kings








 

Reading Nathan Branch's current travels post Château de Versailles: A Lesson In Humility click here

reminds me of a slender book Gardener to the King full of insights into people and plants.

André Le Nôtre, gardener to Louis the XIV, is quoted from his notebooks; he also added to the field of meteorology using his knowledge of plants and weather.

I find his observations of people on the extreme ends of the range of wealth, insightful and witty.
Le Nôtre came up with some good growing and storing solutions to be at the ready for one thousand hungry people to descend at any time.
 

Gardener to the King, Frederic Richaud
Extract of Plan of Versailles: Jean Delagrive 1689-1757