Rose Palestro J. G. Mouson & Co. 1925

When I completed my training as a commercial clerk in 1971, I frequently changed my workplace and thus my employers. Fortunately, this was still very easy at the beginning of the 70s. Back then, a candidate faced about 50 - 60 job offers - today it is exactly the opposite. I often stayed only two or three months before starting again at another company. I did not do this to increase my salary - that was just a - admittedly pleasant - side effect. No, I was looking for the job that truly brought me joy, fulfilled me, where I could contribute my skills.

One of these three-month companies was "Mouson." The company was based in Frankfurt Bornheim, one of the old and still very traditional districts of Frankfurt. Despite the short time, I loved Mouson's soaps very much, while my mother swore by the Mouson cream.

The company, founded in 1798 by August Friedrich Mouson - a wandering journeyman soap maker - through the takeover of the soap factory Held and continued under his own name, achieved considerable success in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Particularly in the field of perfumery - in the 1930s, two perfumes were launched (Maroquin and Gamic) that could compete with high-quality French perfumes. The most famous Mouson scent was "Mouson Lavender with the Stagecoach," and the most well-known and successful cosmetic product was the "Mouson Cream."

In 1948, the 150th anniversary was celebrated, and the company reached its highest market share in 1965 with about 1,100 employees, exporting to 80 countries. However, in the late 60s, both domestic and foreign competition grew larger and stronger, and so Mouson - despite restructuring and reducing the product range from 200 to 130 products in 1968 - could not survive and was sold in 1972 to Quandt, later to Cassella AG. The sale was essentially the end of Mouson, although the company continued to exist under the name Mouson until 1978.

Today, only the 33 m high tower, built by 1926, the Mousonturm, remains of the soap and perfume factory in Bornheim. It was considered the first skyscraper in Frankfurt. Today, it has become a cultural center and a popular and well-known venue in Frankfurt for theater, literature, dance, and music events, visual arts, etc. On the rest of the former Mouson site, a senior living facility now stands.

Due to the rather short professional episode, I had not dealt with Mouson for all these years - until now, when I was able to add a small bottle of "Rose Palestro" by Mouson to my rose fragrance collection.

The scent corresponds 100% to its time. Rose fragrances were allowed to smell like a large bouquet of field roses just before wilting. You can already perceive the slight mustiness of wilting flowers, the heavy sweetness of impending decay. The Rose Palestro - like many rose fragrances of this time - comes across as somewhat old-fashioned, spinsterish. It is a soliflore without much development, but it lasts extremely long and has a quite pronounced, yet close-to-the-body sillage.

Unfortunately, most rose fragrances from days gone by have this characteristic, making them rather uninspired in their composition. Here, various new or newer rose fragrances from our time perform much better.

Nevertheless, these old rose fragrances, in their simple composition, are a beautiful reminder of long-gone days, of young ladies in fragrant dresses with crinolines and bows all over, sun hats, and lace parasols.

Thus, I will also keep Rose Palestro as a lovely memory in my rose fragrance collection and occasionally indulge in nostalgia.