page_title: Jacques Guerlain
section_title: Early life
hierarchical_section_title: Jacques Guerlain / Biography / Early life
caption_attribution_description: English: 18 Avenue Ménelotte, Colombes Bought by Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain Birthplace of Jacques Guerlain Sold by Aimé Guerlain
context_page_description: Jacques Edouard Guerlain was a French perfumer, the third and most famous of the Guerlain family. One of the most prolific and influential perfumers of the 20th century, over eighty of Guerlain's perfumes remain known, though certain estimates suggest he composed some four hundred. Among his greatest fragrances are L’Heure Bleue, Mitsouko and Shalimar. Though his work earned him universal renown, a considerable fortune and honours such as that of Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, Guerlain avoided public attention, never once granting an interview. As a result, relatively little is known of his creative process or personal life.
  Many of his major works are archived in their original form at the Osmothèque, donated by Thierry Wasser on behalf of Guerlain in 2014.
context_section_description: Jacques Guerlain, the second child of Gabriel and Clarisse Guerlain, was born in 1874 in the family villa in Colombes. He was educated in England, in keeping with family tradition, and then in Paris at the École Monge where he studied history, English, German, Greek and Latin. His uncle, perfumer Aimé Guerlain, was childless, and thus trained Jacques from the age of sixteen as his apprentice and successor. In 1890 Jacques created his first perfume, Ambre. He then interned in the organic chemistry laboratory of Charles Friedel at the University of Paris, before being officially employed in the family business in 1894. He experimented widely in both cosmetics and fragrance, perfecting a method for perfuming ink while publishing with Justin Dupont on the subject of various essential oils. Meanwhile, he composed his earliest works such as Le Jardin de Mon Curé (1895). In 1897 he assumed joint ownership of his family's company, shared with his brother, Pierre, and father. For two years, Jacques and Pierre exchanged the responsibilities of manager and chief perfumer, until Jacques assumed the latter role in 1899. During this period, Jacques composed several perfumes, including Tsao Ko (1898), his first perfume to reference the Orient, a dominant theme in his oeuvre.
caption: Former Guerlain villa, Colombes
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