Thus began my conversation with Simon Brooke, owner and president of Grossmith, which looked more like a monologue of this pleasant gray-haired gentleman than our dialogue with him. But, by the way, his story was so interesting and fascinating that I turned to the ear ....
“Grossmith is one of the oldest perfume houses in England, which was founded in London in 1835 by my great-great-grandfather John Grossmith. His son, John Lipscomb Grossmith, managed to develop a family-owned company and, upon returning to England, returned to England turn it into a leading manufacturer of perfumery products in England, the assortment of which presented a wide selection of perfumes, perfumed soaps, face powders, as well as other toiletries, including hand and body creams.
What made Grossmith different from other perfume manufacturers? Firstly, initially the brand’s products were not considered niche, but belonged to the category of elite perfumes. Secondly, our exclusive Baccarat crystal bottles, as well as unique natural ingredients that were delivered to the factory directly from Grasse, were famous throughout England. At the 1851 World Exhibition, Grossmith & Son was the only company in England to be awarded a medal for its perfumery.
In England itself, the Grossmith perfume was also considered a luxury item, which is why they were given the “Royal Warrant”, which allowed the company to become a supplier of the royal house of Windsor. What is a Royal Permission? This is a special recognition of individual manufacturers or companies that have provided their services or products for at least five years to Her Majesty the Queen of England, His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales.
"Royal Permission" to the House of Grossmith was given by Queen Alexandra (1844 - 1925), wife of King Edward VII. Moreover, the imperial courts of Greece and Spain have also declared Grossmith House their official supplier.
Especially for the wedding of Princess May and the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York George in July 1893, special perfumes were created by the Grossmith House. Later, the young princess became Queen Mary, and Prince George became King George V. These were the grandparents of the reigning Queen Elizabeth II.
Almost three generations of our family were engaged in the production of perfumes, until 1924. In the war and post-war years, perfumes by the Grossmith House were almost never released. In fact, it all came down to the production of inexpensive toiletries: soaps, lotions, creams and talc. In 1970, the company ceased to be family-owned, and somewhere in the 1980s it practically stopped trading. "
And then I could not resist the question, or rather, from two:
"What was so special about Grossmith? How were they different from everything that perfumers in Europe represented in the 19th century?"
"Our perfumes are unique floral oriental fragrances. For the British, both then and now, the countries of the Far and Middle East were an inexhaustible source of inspiration, therefore exotic, unique and unlike anything else attracted the most demanding mods of that time.
Since at the very beginning of my story I was talking about the revival of the Grossmith brand and the “Project Emilia”, I think the time has come for a more detailed explanation.
After the trade in our goods was practically curtailed in the 1980s, for more than 30 years no one had heard anything about Grossmith, it occurred to me to revive the family business. At first glance, this may seem very funny, because I have been selling real estate for more than 35 years and quite by accident, in one of the historical books that I love to read at my leisure, I came across a story about Grossmith House. After a short research, it became clear to me that I was a direct descendant of the Grossmith family, and who, if not me, should be engaged in the revival of the glorious name of this House? What is the "Emily Project"?
I gave this name to a project dedicated to the search for ancient formulas and archival documents that would shed light on the production process of the most famous Grossmith perfumes in honor of my wife Emilia, who, in fact, pushed me to this and still obsesses me with everything, regarding the revival of the House of Grossmith. I will not go into a detailed story about working in archives and on the Internet, but Emilia and I managed to find samples or just perfume bottles of Grossmith, released at the beginning of the 20th century and still preserved in English families. Thanks to these findings, I planned to restore the lost formulas of the original spirits of the House, but here an unusual turn of events awaited me. I allow myself a small retreat ...
The most famous classic aromas of the Grossmith House between 1888 and 1906 were: Hasu-No-Hana (Japanese lotus, 1888), Phul-Nana (bouquet of Indian flowers, 1891) and Shem-el-Nessim (Arabian breeze, 1906) With samples and old bottles of just these perfumes, I went to Robertet, the perfume house located in Grasse, specializing in the production of aromas from natural ingredients. It was important for me to restore the original formulas for odor residues, no matter how much it costs. Roger Dove, a professor of perfumery, a recognized expert in the field of high perfumery, managed to give descriptions to our perfumes, describing them as classic English, and comparing them with some immortal creations of the Guirlain and Houbigiant Houses.
However, we failed to derive the ideal formula. Too ephemeral were the smells lingering in old bottles. Inspired and inspired by the first discoveries, I returned to England. I was bursting with joy and pride, and I had to share this with someone. One weekend, I decided to go visit one of my cousins. Over a cup of tea, we talked about our findings and plans for the future with Emilia, and what was my surprise when my cousin said quite calmly: "You know, I still have some family notebooks with some recipes. Maybe this is what are you looking for?". I jumped in the chair.
What my cousin gave me turned out to be the diaries of my great-great-grandfather John Lipscomb Grossmith (1843 - 1921), which described the formulas of more than 300 Grossmith products, including 96 types of perfumes, 23 types of toilet water and colognes, 10 mixtures of aromatic oils and 82 types of soap, which were sold under more than a hundred individual brands. In the same diaries there were sketches and detailed descriptions of the bottles from Baccarat, each of which had an individual number ... "
- And as a result, the Grossmith brand was revived? I ask.
“That's right. And it happened in 2009.
Together with the Baccarat House and the designers Holmes and Merchant, we restored the original bottles first released in 1919. They are engraved with gold, which completely repeats the design of the first classic fragrances - Hasu-No-Hana, Shem-el-Nessim (by the way, the spring festival was held on the banks of the Nile) and Phul-Naha, and individual numbers. Sets of three fragrances in Baccarat crystal bottles are produced in a limited edition and placed in a special white gift case made by craftsmen from Schiffield.
The standard version of the same fragrances is presented in original bottles of 100 and 50 ml. In the United Arab Emirates, our perfumes are exclusively represented in the Saks Fifth Avenue Gallery. Over time, we will restore other popular Grossmith products, but that will be a completely different story. "
- Great! Tell me, Simon, what does the revival of the Grossmith brand mean for you personally?
“Perhaps I’ll answer with the words of Roger Dove, a perfumer and professor who managed to feel the essence of our perfumes, to reveal and understand their soul. He said:“ The Grossmith brand has been choking for many years, and its revival was an amazing addition to the canons of modern perfumery, because the aromas Grossmith have an amazing fullness and unique quality, which, it seems to me, completely coincide with modern trends aimed at authenticity, individuality, compliance with rules and historical formulas. "I think that Emilia and I did everything right. What will happen next, time will tell. "
