- Eau de Cologne is a Perfume from Cologne which dates back to the Roman Period.
The Roman Period
- A perfume salesman named Sextus Haparonius Justinus recorded on his Gravestone that he was a ‘Negotiator Seplasiarius’ and that he sold slaves and Perfume.
- Many Roman perfume phials have been found in the vicinity, but the ingredients are unknown.
The Eighteenth Century
- The Roman perfumes were an early precursor to the Eau de Cologne produced from 1709 CE onwards by Giovanni Maria Farina.
- This perfume was made by combining alcohol spirit infused with citrus ingredients, and was sold to nearly all the European Royal Families.
- Wilhelm Mulhens produced a similar Perfume called 4711. It was named after the address of the factory at number 4711 Glockengasse.
Current Era
- Other Perfumeries were started and the generic term ‘Eau de Cologne’ or ‘Cologne’ is used to denote perfume sold by perfume producers based in Cologne.
4711 Glockengasse, Cologne