The Mystery and Lure of Perfume

C. J. S. Thompson’s The Mystery and Lore of Perfume (1927) is a richly detailed cultural history of scent, tracing the ritual, medical, and aesthetic uses of perfume from the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Babylon, and Greece through the Islamic world and into early modern Europe. Blending antiquarian research with the sensibilities of a historian of medicine, Thompson explores how odours shaped religious worship, healing practices, and personal adornment, revealing perfume as both a scientific and symbolic art. Illustrated with rare images and drawing on classical and historical sources, the book endures as a scholarly meditation on humanity’s enduring fascination with fragrance and its intersection with beauty, belief, and emotion.