Once upon a time, Grasse – a sleepy, Mediterranean town on the French Riviera – was renowned for its tanneries: workshops where Italian hides were transformed into luxuriant leathers to be worn by the crème de la crème of European nobility. However, there was one unavoidable step in the curing of animal skins – the use of odorous nitrogenous waste – and Italian noblewoman Catherine de’ Medici demanded a more alluring fragrance be applied to her leather opera gloves. When Grassois native Jean…
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