Historic Texts Timeline
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Historic Texts Timeline

At a glance

The same sources as Historic Texts, laid out chronologically instead of by module, from Tapputi's Middle Assyrian perfume tablet (c. 1200 BCE) to today's IFRA standards. Grouped into five eras rather than a strict linear scale, since a true linear timeline would crush three thousand years of ancient sources into a sliver next to the last two centuries. Click any entry to jump straight to its full record. Reference-only entries without a definite year (a handful of catalog citations) aren't placed here, see the full list on Historic Texts.

Ancient World (pre-500 CE)

1239 BCE · 1. History & Culture The Tapputi-Belet-ekallim Tablet (KAR 220) Tapputi-Belet-ekallim; tablet transliterated by Erich Ebeling (1919), analyzed by Escobar (2023)
c. 300 BCE · 1. History & Culture Concerning Odours (De Odoribus) Theophrastus (trans. Sir Arthur Hort)
70 · 1. History & Culture The Greek Herbal of Dioscorides (De Materia Medica) Dioscorides (trans. John Goodyer, 1655; ed. Robert T. Gunther, 1934)
77 · 1. History & Culture Naturalis Historia, Book XIII (Unguents and Perfumes) Pliny the Elder (trans. Bostock & Riley)
100 · 1. History & Culture De Iside et Osiride, §80 (the Kyphi recipe) Plutarch (trans. Frank Cole Babbitt, Loeb Classical Library)
200 · 1. History & Culture The Deipnosophists, Book XV (On Perfumes) Athenaeus of Naucratis (trans. C. D. Yonge, 1854)

Medieval & Islamic Golden Age (500–1400)

550 · 1. History & Culture Bṛhat Saṃhitā, Chapter 77 (Gandhayukti) Varāhamihira (trans. V. Subrahmanya Sastri & M. Ramakrishna Bhat)
830 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction Jawāhir al-Ṭīb al-Mufrada ("Simple Aromatic Substances") Yuḥannā ibn Māsawayh (Mesuë Senior)
850 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction Al-Kindi's Book of the Chemistry of Perfume and Distillations Abū Yūsuf Yaʻqūb ibn Isḥāq al-Kindī
1000 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction Kitāb al-Taṣrīf, Treatise XIX — On Perfumery, Cosmetics, and Aromatic Compounds Abū al-Qāsim al-Zahrāwī (Albucasis)
1025 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction The Canon of Medicine (Al-Qānūn fī al-Ṭibb) Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna)
1115 · 1. History & Culture 香譜 (Xiang Pu / "The Incense Manual") Hong Chu (洪芻)

Renaissance & Early Modern (1400–1700)

1527 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction The Vertuose Boke of Distyllacyon Hieronymus Brunschwig (trans. Laurence Andrew)
1530 · 1. History & Culture La Décoration d'Humaine Nature et Ornement des Dames André Le Fournier
1555 · 1. History & Culture Notandissimi Secreti de l'Arte Profumatoria Giovanventura Rosetti
1555 · 1. History & Culture Excellent & Moult Utile Opuscule (Traité des Fardemens et Confitures) Michel de Nostredame (Nostradamus)
1558 · 1. History & Culture The Secrets of Alexis of Piedmont Alessio Piemontese (trans. William Warde)
1561 · 1. History & Culture I Secreti de la Signora Isabella Cortese Isabella Cortese
1590 · 1. History & Culture Āʾīn-i Akbarī, Volume I (the imperial perfume department) Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak (trans. H. Blochmann)
1602 · 1. History & Culture Delightes for Ladies Sir Hugh Platt
1643 · 1. History & Culture 香乘 (Xiang Cheng / "The Records of Incense") Zhou Jiazhou (周嘉胄)
1658 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction Natural Magick (Magia Naturalis), Book X: Of Distillation Giambattista della Porta
1693 · 1. History & Culture Le Parfumeur François Simon Barbe
1698 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction Traité Universel des Drogues Simples Nicolas Lémery

18th–19th Century (1700–1900)

1733 · 1. History & Culture 香道滝之糸 (Kōdō Taki no Ito) Ōeda Ryūhō (大枝流芳)
1764 · 3. Formulation & Composition Traité des Odeurs Antoine Hornot (writing as "M. Déjean")
1772 · 1. History & Culture The Toilet of Flora Pierre-Joseph Buc'hoz
1822 · 3. Formulation & Composition The British Perfumer Charles Lillie
1834 · 3. Formulation & Composition Nouveau Manuel Complet du Parfumeur Madame Celnart (Élisabeth-Félicie Bayle-Mouillard)
1853 · 3. Formulation & Composition Perfumery, Its Manufacture and Use Elisabeth Celnart (trans. Campbell Morfit)
1855 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction The Art of Perfumery, and Methods of Obtaining the Odors of Plants G. W. Septimus Piesse
1865 · 1. History & Culture The Book of Perfumes Eugène Rimmel
1866 · 3. Formulation & Composition The Toilet and Cosmetic Arts in Ancient and Modern Times Arnold J. Cooley
1868 · 3. Formulation & Composition A Practical Guide for the Perfumer Hippolyte Dussauce
1868 · 4. Chemistry of Aroma Materials The first laboratory synthesis of coumarin William Henry Perkin
1874 · 4. Chemistry of Aroma Materials The synthesis of vanillin Wilhelm Haarmann & Ferdinand Tiemann
1877 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ li-Mufradāt al-Adwiya wa-al-Aghdhiya (Traité des Simples) Ibn al-Bayṭār (trans. Lucien Leclerc)
1877 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction Perfumery and Kindred Arts R. S. Cristiani
1877 · 3. Formulation & Composition A Treatise on the Manufacture of Perfumes and Kindred Toilet Articles John H. Snively
1888 · 4. Chemistry of Aroma Materials The discovery of synthetic musk Albert Baur
1891 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction Piesse's Art of Perfumery (5th Edition) G. W. Septimus Piesse (rev. Charles H. Piesse)
1892 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction Perfumes and Their Preparation George William Askinson
1892 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction Odorographia, Vol. I John Charles Sawer
1892 · 3. Formulation & Composition A Practical Treatise on the Manufacture of Perfumery Dr. Carl Deite
1893 · 4. Chemistry of Aroma Materials The synthesis of ionone Ferdinand Tiemann & Paul Krüger
1894 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction Odorographia, Vol. II John Charles Sawer
1899 · 4. Chemistry of Aroma Materials The Chemistry of Essential Oils and Artificial Perfumes Ernest J. Parry

Modern (1900–present)

1900 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction Bulletin Scientifique et Industriel de la Maison Roure-Bertrand Fils Roure-Bertrand Fils (Grasse)
1902 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction Semi-Annual Report of Schimmel & Co. (1902–1904) Schimmel & Co. (Miltitz, near Leipzig)
1904 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction Semi-Annual Report of Schimmel & Co. (1904) Schimmel & Co. (Miltitz, near Leipzig)
1906 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction Semi-Annual Report of Schimmel & Co. (1906–1907) Schimmel & Co. (Miltitz, near Leipzig)
1906 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction Semi-Annual Report of Schimmel & Co. (1906) Schimmel & Co. (Miltitz, near Leipzig)
1908 · 4. Chemistry of Aroma Materials Le Parfum chez la Plante Eugène Charabot & C.-L. Gatin
1909 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction Semi-Annual Report of Schimmel & Co. Schimmel & Co. (Miltitz, near Leipzig)
1909 · 4. Chemistry of Aroma Materials Terpene und Campher Otto Wallach
1910 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction Semi-Annual Report of Schimmel & Co. (1910–1911) Schimmel & Co. (Miltitz, near Leipzig)
1911 · 1. History & Culture District Gazetteer of Farrukhabad (the Kannauj scent industry) United Provinces of Agra and Oudh government
1912 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction Semi-Annual Report of Schimmel & Co. (April 1912) Schimmel & Co. (Miltitz, near Leipzig)
1912 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction Semi-Annual Report of Schimmel & Co. (October 1912) Schimmel & Co. (Miltitz, near Leipzig)
1913 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction Semi-Annual Report of Schimmel & Co. (1913) Schimmel & Co. (Miltitz, near Leipzig)
1913 · 4. Chemistry of Aroma Materials The Volatile Oils, Vol. 1 Eduard Gildemeister & Friedrich Hoffmann
1913 · 4. Chemistry of Aroma Materials Die Ätherischen Öle, Band 2 (The Volatile Oils, Vol. 2) Eduard Gildemeister & Friedrich Hoffmann
1917 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction Semi-Annual Report of Schimmel & Co. (1917) Schimmel & Co. (Miltitz, near Leipzig)
1918 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction Semi-Annual Report of Schimmel & Co. (1918–1920) Schimmel & Co. (Miltitz, near Leipzig)
1921 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction Annual Report of Schimmel & Co. (1921–1922) Schimmel & Co. (Miltitz, near Leipzig)
1921 · 4. Chemistry of Aroma Materials The Chemistry of Essential Oils and Artificial Perfumes, Vol. II Ernest J. Parry
1922 · 3. Formulation & Composition La Parfumerie Moderne, Vol. 15 (1922) René-Maurice Gattefossé (ed.)
1922 · 4. Chemistry of Aroma Materials The Volatile Oils, Vol. 3 Eduard Gildemeister & Friedrich Hoffmann (ed.)
1923 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction Perfumes, Cosmetics and Soaps (Vol. 1: The Raw Materials of Perfumery) William A. Poucher
1924 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction Les Parfums de France (as Revue des Marques, Parfums de France) Établissements Antoine Chiris (Grasse)
1926 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction Perfumes, Cosmetics and Soaps (Vol. 2: Practical Perfumery, With Especial Reference to Synthetics) William A. Poucher
1927 · 1. History & Culture The Mystery and Lure of Perfume C. J. S. Thompson
1927 · 4. Chemistry of Aroma Materials Les Parfums: Chimie et Industrie Paul Jeancard
1930 · 1. History & Culture The Papyrus Ebers trans. Cyril P. Bryan (from the German edition)
1938 · 4. Chemistry of Aroma Materials The Scientific Basis of Odour Malcolm Dyson
1947 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction Natural Perfume Materials: A Study of Concretes, Resinoids, Floral Oils and Pomades Y. R. Naves & G. Mazuyer (trans. Edward Sagarin)
1948 · 2. Raw Materials & Extraction The Essential Oils, Vol. I Ernest Guenther
1954 · 5. Modern Reference & Regulation The Practice of Modern Perfumery Paul Jellinek
1960 · 4. Chemistry of Aroma Materials Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin Steffen Arctander
1961 · 3. Formulation & Composition A Method of Creation in Perfumery Jean Carles
1969 · 4. Chemistry of Aroma Materials Perfume and Flavor Chemicals (Aroma Chemicals) Steffen Arctander
1975 · 3. Formulation & Composition Perfumery Technology: Art, Science, Industry F. V. Wells & Marcel Billot
1980 · 3. Formulation & Composition Le Parfum Edmond Roudnitska
1990 · 4. Chemistry of Aroma Materials Headspace Analysis and the "Living Flower" Roman Kaiser (Givaudan) and Braja Mookherjee (IFF)
1991 · 5. Modern Reference & Regulation A Novel Multigene Family May Encode Odorant Receptors: A Molecular Basis for Odor Recognition Linda B. Buck & Richard Axel
1994 · 5. Modern Reference & Regulation Perfumery: Practice and Principles J. Stephan Jellinek & Robert R. Calkin
1999 · 1. History & Culture Sacred Luxuries: Fragrance, Aromatherapy, and Cosmetics in Ancient Egypt Lise Manniche
2008 · 6. Documented Reformulation Case Studies The Aldehyde Dose and the Chanel No. 5 Question Simon Cotton, "2-Methylundecanal" — Molecule of the Month, University of Bristol
2009 · 5. Modern Reference & Regulation Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products European Parliament and Council of the European Union
2014 · 5. Modern Reference & Regulation Tuning of Essential Oil Properties by Enzymatic Treatment: Towards Sustainable Processes for the Generation of New Fragrant Ingredients Sylvain Antoniotti
2015 · 5. Modern Reference & Regulation Human olfactory receptor responses to odorants Joel D. Mainland, Yun R. Li, Ting Zhou, Wen Ling L. Liu & Hiroaki Matsunami
2016 · 5. Modern Reference & Regulation Ligand Specificity and Evolution of Mammalian Musk Odor Receptors: Effect of Single Receptor Deletion on Odor Detection Sato-Akuhara, Horio, Kato-Namba, Yoshikawa, Niimura, Ihara, Shirasu & Touhara
2016 · 5. Modern Reference & Regulation Fragrance Allergens, Overview with a Focus on Recent Developments and Understanding of Abiotic and Biotic Activation Johanna Bråred Christensson, Lina Hagvall & Ann-Therese Karlberg
2018 · 1. History & Culture Le kyphi dans les papyrus grecs Hélène Chouliara-Raïos
2020 · 1. History & Culture Southern Africa as a 'Cradle of Incense' in Wider African Aromatherapy Nicholas J. Sadgrove
2020 · 6. Documented Reformulation Case Studies The Oakmoss Restriction and the Chypre Reformulation Era IFRA Standard on Oakmoss Extracts (Amendment 49, 2020)
2020 · 6. Documented Reformulation Case Studies The Bergamot Problem and the Shalimar Reformulation IFRA Standard on Bergamot Oil Expressed (Amendment 49, 2020)
2021 · 1. History & Culture Gandhaśāstram: A Panoramic View on Cosmetics and Perfumes in Sanskrit Literature ed. M. Padmanabha Marathe Kaeel; Kavikulguru Kalidas Sanskrit University, Ramtek
2021 · 5. Modern Reference & Regulation Rational Design of Sustainable Liquid Microcapsules for Spontaneous Fragrance Encapsulation Marianna Mamusa, Rosangela Mastrangelo, Tom Glen, Sergio Murgia, Gerardo Palazzo, Johan Smets et al.
2021 · 5. Modern Reference & Regulation A Narrative Review of the Current Knowledge on Fruit Active Aroma Using Gas Chromatography-Olfactometry (GC-O) Analysis M. B. Egea, M. R. V. Bertolo, J. G. Oliveira Filho et al.
2022 · 5. Modern Reference & Regulation Transport features predict if a molecule is odorous Mayhew, Arayata, Gerkin, Lee et al.
2022 · 5. Modern Reference & Regulation An odorant receptor that senses four classes of musk compounds Yoshikawa, Deguchi, Hu, Lu et al.
2023 · 1. History & Culture Ritual Relationships with Copal Incense Rebecca J. Mendoza
2023 · 5. Modern Reference & Regulation Chemistry, biosynthesis and biology of floral volatiles: roles in pollination and other functions Stefan Dötterl & Jonathan Gershenzon
2023 · 5. Modern Reference & Regulation Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/1545 on labelling of fragrance allergens in cosmetic products European Commission
2023 · 5. Modern Reference & Regulation Behaviour of synthetic musk fragrances in freshwaters: occurrence, relations with environmental parameters, and preliminary risk assessment S. Tasselli, M. Rogora, A. Orrù & L. Guzzella
2024 · 5. Modern Reference & Regulation Assessing Contributions of Synthetic Musk Compounds from Wastewater Treatment Plants to Atmospheric and Aquatic Environments W.-L. Li, C. Shunthirasingham, F. Wong, S. A. Smyth et al.
2024 · 5. Modern Reference & Regulation Sniffing Out the Sustainable Future: The Renewability Revolution in Fragrance Chemistry Elterlein, Bugdahn & Kraft
2026 · 5. Modern Reference & Regulation Construction of a multi-label odor prediction model based on molecular structures and olfactory receptor binding profiles Wakutsu & Kaneko