Inventor of Armenian paper
Armenian paper is a type of incense that has been produced for centuries. The paper is infused with essences, fragrances or essential oils in order to achieve a perfuming or cleansing effect. Examples of Armenian paper include Papier d’Arménie, which is produced in France, and Carta d’Armenia, which is produced in Italy. The scents from the French production is « Tradition », « Arménie » and « Rose ».
At the end of the 19th century, Auguste Ponsot discovered that Armenian households would burn plants in the genus Styrax as a fragrance. Ponsot adopted this habit, and, with the help of the pharmacist Henri Rivier, created his own recipe wherein benzoin (resin) was dissolved in alcohol then let to soak into blotting paper. The product has been steadily produced in Montrouge, France since 1885. In 2006, during the Year of Armenia in France (Année de l’Arménie en France), the celebrated French perfumer of Armenian origin Francis Kurkdjian gave his own recreation of the historical recipe.
