Armenian paper
As Armenian paper (paper d'Arménie) is denoted by benzoin , the resin of Storaxbäumen , impregnated paper, the smoke after incense smells. The smoke is said to have antiseptic , odor-neutralizing, air-purifying and enthusiasm-promoting effects. This is justified with a 25% proportion of benzoic acid in the resin - benzoin is also used to produce frankincense. A piece of the paper is left to glow for use.
The French traveler Auguste Ponsot learned in the Ottoman Empire the practice of the Armenians to perfume their houses with the smoke of flaming benzoin resin. The pharmacist Henri Rivier developed a method to make it easier to use: He dissolved benzoin in 90% alcohol and mixed it with other essences and soaked paper with it, which was then dried again.
Papier d'Arménie was immediately successful at the Paris Hygiene Fair in 1888 and a year later at the World Exhibition ; Its effect was demonstrated there by storing two pieces of meat under glass bells for a week. Armenian paper had also been burned under one, and this piece was still edible after a week, but the other was no longer.
Armenian paper has been made in the same factory on the outskirts of Paris for 120 years. Rivier's descendant, Mireille Schvartz, is the fourth generation to produce two million fragrant paper books a year with ten employees. Even if the production process of the booklets is partially automated, nothing fundamental has changed in terms of production. In the cellar , benzoin, vanilla and other ingredients that are closely guarded company secrets macerate in tanks for three months. In order to better absorb the scent, the absorbent paper is dipped in brine, dried and pressed before it is put into the scented bath. Then it is dried in the oven, pressed again and stored for two months until it is cut, perforated and stapled into a booklet. The look of the envelope has not changed for decades.
The demand has been increasing for a while and a new fragrance blend is being offered: In 2006 France celebrated L'Année de l'Arménie on the 15th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Armenia. Half a million people of Armenian origin live in France, including the successful perfumer Francis Kurkdjian , who created a new fragrance composition for the anniversary edition of Papier d'Arménie.
literature
- Danièle Festy: Ma bible de l'automédication: Le guide référence pour soigner sans danger toute la famille. Leduc.s éditions, 2015, ISBN 979-10-285-0136-5 , p. 322.
Web links
- Manufacturer's website (French, English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dominique Auzias, Jean-Paul Labourdette: In: Petit Futé Hauts-de-Seine. 2005-2006, p. 165.