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Jean-Baptiste Rigaud
the History of the House of Rigaud
The history of RIGAUD goes back to the turn of the century - 1800's into 1900's. The original scent was created to scent an exclusive dress shop onthe Rive Gauche. The original scent was green - Cypres. It was the first ever burning fragrance and whenever anyone stepped into this dress shop, they were captivated by the scent and of course wanted to buy it and take it home. Once someone has treated themselves to a RIGAUD candle to scent their home, they will never forget the experience. The way the scent actually lifts into the air and follows the air currents around the home is truly unique and unforgettable. No other candle does this.
Note that there are no air bubbles - due to a unique and patented pourmethod. The formula also is proprietary and so soft that you can stick yourf inger into the candle - another thing that does not exist in other candles.
Rigaud candles have snuffers - these are not tops. When the candle is burning, there will be a surface of liquid fragrance oil and this is why thecandle is so good at lifting into the air. If blown out, this liquid oil can splatter but the most important reason for the snuffer is to keep thefragrance in the air of your home and not be ruined by smoke when a candleis blown out.
Diana Vreeland, editor of Vogue brought the candle back to America in the1950's where she burned it in the Vogue offices. Jacqueline Kennedy discovered them in the French ambassador's office in New York and then burned them in the White House. Since that time, the line is very well known and used by high society, celebrities, politicians, musicians and many others.
To burn a RIGAUD candle is to understand true luxury.
Rigaud, since 1852
Jean-Baptiste Rigaud, a great French perfumer of the 19th century
Following studies in chemistry in his native Auvergne, Jean-Baptiste Rigaud came to Paris in 1852 to experience his passion and reveal the artist within him.
He made his first steps in the Paris business milieu and in the world of perfumery with a renowned pharmacist, Monsieur Grimault.
With passion and determination, guided by his imagination, he resolved to travel the world in order to find new and undiscovered scents in exotic lands, soon realizing the fascination and the emotion these unexploited riches could awaken in Europe’s fine ladies.
Back in Paris at a time when the French aristocracy was experiencing a real infatuation with everything English, Jean-Baptiste Rigaud opened his perfumery in the rue Vivienne, under the name “Parfumerie Victoria” as a tribute to the Queen of England.
The names of the scents he purveyed to his clientele had a decidedly English sound: “Kiss Me Quick,” “Jockey Club,” “Bouquet Victoria.” He began what was to be a brilliant career by creating rare exotic perfumes, orienting his business along a hitherto unknown path.
He explained his approach in these terms: “In founding a perfumery house, my aim was higher than simply to engage in the ordinary commerce of perfumery. (…) I therefore hit upon the idea that introducing a new aromatic plant would be like adding a new note to my keyboard, as it were, and that only on that condition would I be able to create new products bearing the stamp of originality.”
A perfumer of genius and a creator of trends
Among Jean-Baptiste Rigaud’s first major innovations was his essence of Ylang-Ylang in 1860, which earned the nicknames “Fleur des Fleurs” and “Roi des Parfums,” won over the entire elegant privileged class of the period, and immediately ranked the house of Rigaud among the great Paris perfumeries.
Another exotic flower essence was added to Jean-Baptiste Rigaud’s creative achievements – the Kananga flower of Japan. Charmed by the mysterious legend of this flower, Jean-Baptiste made it a brand in its own right, symbolized by a Japanese girl holding a Kananga branch in her right hand. “Eau de Kananga,” created in 1869, rapidly became a great success throughout Europe and as far away as the United States of America.
International fame came rapidly, and Jean-Baptiste Rigaud opened warehouses and offices around the world, as for example in New York in 1868.
Attentive to current events and fashion trends, his inspiration led him to create evocative fragrances dedicated to the major personalities of the time. As a tribute to France’s imperial family, he created “Impérial Bouquet,” a portrait in perfume of Emperor Napoléon III, Empress Eugénie and Prince Eugène.
Tuned to the music of his time, with the operettas of Offenbach triumphing on the Paris stage, he created a series of amusing compositions inspired by masterpieces like La Vie Parisienne, La Belle Hélène, and La Biche au Bois. He dedicated his perfume “Miranda Bouquet” to the actresses and singers of the Théâtre Vaudeville and Opéra Comique.
Rigaud, Perfumer to Royalty
Following the fall of the Second Empire, the Franco-Prussian War and the siege of Paris in 1870, Jean-Baptiste Rigaud re-launched his perfumery house. He became official supplier to Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands, then to the royal family of Greece, and finally perfumer-distiller to the Russian imperial court.
Diversifying his business into soap making and skin creams, he continued his expansion with the acquisition of two perfumery houses that were well known to the wealthy Paris bourgeoisie – the Parfumerie du Dr. Cazenave and Parfumerie Naquet, highly sought after for their exclusive production of oil of Macassar.
The bourgeoisie of all Europe, when visiting Paris, crowded to discover the marvels and oddities on view in the magnificent perfumery in the rue Vivienne.
Here is what an American press correspondent of the time wrote: “All present greatly admired the artistically arranged show window, the Japanese Kananga and the most fragrant perfumes, in etched crystal flacons in rich cases in elegant shapes of the most exquisite taste …”
From the Faubourg Saint-Honoré to the rue de la Paix
In 1899, under the name “Veuve Rigaud,” Jean-Baptiste’s widow decided to continue his work after his death in 1898. She brought a new, feminine and modern style to the luxury perfume salon she opened in 1902 in Paris’s rue du Faubourg St Honoré. The rose-and-white lacquered salon was admirably decorated with Louis XVI mirrors and furniture. Mahogany display cabinets presented original flacons in their graceful cases, set off by precious ribbons tied by expert fingers.
Her son Henri Rigaud joined the company and took advantage of the advances made in chemistry to create successful new fragrances in the tradition of the great master perfumers.
With his new perfume “Camia” in 1906, Henri Rigaud joined the first rank of perfumers to the elite. Luxuriously presented in a satin case in the Empire style, the perfume soon garnered the most flattering expressions of appreciation, including from Her Majesty the Queen of England.
In 1910, the rue de la Paix was the meeting place for all that was elegant, the center of the luxury trade, and the reflection of Parisian taste. Rigaud opened a shop there, decorated in the Empire style, with a white marble façade to set off the artistically designed crystal flacons and their luxurious cases.
The house of Veuve Rigaud provided perfumes to the greatest female celebrities of the day, actresses and journalists. The perfumes often took their names from celebrities of the Belle Epoque, or paid homage to them. The singer Mary Garden, greatly in vogue in the United States, lent her name to one perfume.
Rigaud also launched “Vincitor,” a men’s fragrance that was immediately adopted by the great athletes of the day as a tribute to the aviator Louis Blériot, who had just crossed the Channel.
© 1998-2012 LONDONS, Inc. All rights reserved.
Bathecary ™ is trademarked by LONDONS, Inc.
Bathecary ™ is trademarked by LONDONS, Inc.
