Smells: A Cultural History of Odours in Early Modern Times, by Robert Muchembled

Peter J. Smith applauds a fascinating, if stomach-churning, study of ‘the pongs of the past’

Published on

May 28, 2020

Last updated

May 28, 2020

Scientific Researches! - New Discoveries in Pneumaticks! by James Gillray (1757-1815)

Source: Getty

Noxious fumes: the rise of scientific knowledge led to a diminution of quack cures and reliance on their stomach-churning ingredients

POSTSCRIPT:

Print headline: A fragrant past corked by polite society

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