Myrurgia
Spain In 1916, Ramón Monegal (wealthy chemical industrialist from Barcelona and owner of the Monegal company for drugstore products, including paints and varnishes, detergents, soaps... Read more
Interesting Facts
In 1916, Ramón Monegal (wealthy chemical industrialist from Barcelona and owner of the Monegal company for drugstore products, including paints and varnishes, detergents, soaps and perfumes) founded the Myrurgia company. This was to deal with the creation and distribution of perfumes. The perfume industry in Spain was still in its infancy at the time. The only serious competitor on the market was Perfumeria GAL, founded in Madrid in 1898. Like GAL or Alvarez-Gómez, Myrurgia started on the market with an eau de cologne, "Colonia 1916".
In 1917, Ramón Monegal's son, Esteve Monegal Prat, took over Myrurgia and from then on was the face of the company. Esteve Monegal was a sculptor and teacher and a friend of many contemporary artists. His schooling and education did not take place - like that of his father - at a technical school and as private lessons, but at schools in Barcelona and Paris. The 3rd generation of the family already achieved university degrees and received perfumery training in Grasse, Paris and Geneva.
Under the leadership of father Rámon Monegal as president and his son Esteve as the face of the company, Myrurgia grew into one of the largest perfume houses in Spain. Rámon Monegal ran the company until the late 1940s, before it finally passed to his son Esteve.
"Colonia 1916" was followed by other successful fragrances from 1917, such as "Promesa" and "Maderas de Oriente" (available today in reformulated form). "Maderas de Oriente" was originally offered in a wooden over-bottle that held the glass bottle containing the fragrance. Each bottle also contained a small piece of wood.
In 1918, Myrurgia's most famous and successful fragrance was launched - "Maja" (pronounced "Macha"), inspired by a famous contemporary Spanish flamenco dancer. For trademark reasons - there was already a fragrance called "Maja" from Switzerland at the time - "Maja" was sold outside Spain under the name "Goyesca" for an extended period.
"Maja", which was reissued in 1945, was followed by many other fragrances, including many floral fragrances that are hardly known today, but also fragrances such as "Orgia" (1922), "Suspiro de Granada" (1922), "Flor de Blasón" (1927), "Embrujo de Sevilla" (1933) and "Joya" (1933), to name only the most important ones.
Esteve Monegal Prat led Myrurgia to become the most successful Spanish perfume company between 1950 and 1960. After his death in 1970, his eldest son Esteban (father of Ramón Monegal Maso) successfully continued the company, later also passing it on to his eldest son and brother of Ramón Monegal Maso.
In 1972, Ramón Monegal Maso, 4th generation descendant of the founding family and great-grandson of the founder Ramón Monegal, began his perfume career at and with Myrurgia, creating his first own fragrance, "Alada" in 1979, which is hardly available today. Ramón Monegal Maso founded his own brand - RM - in 2009 and owns an exclusive retail store in Barcelona, described by the press as "a temple of perfume", where he sells his fragrances.
Over the years, Myrurgia has signed many licensing agreements and produced fragrances under license for Massimo Dutti, Adolfo Dominguez, Don Algodón, Julio Iglesias, Seve Ballesteros, Panama Jack, Antonio Miró, among others.
In the 80's Myrurgia bought Dr. Payot and Etienne Aigner perfumes. In 2001, Ramón Monegal's older brother - a banker by trade - sold Myrurgia to Puig. Until 2008, some fragrances continued to be produced under the Myrurgia name, such as "Maja", as well as the fragrances of Don Algodón or even Adolfo Dominguez. Today, the responsibility for the fragrances of Adolfo Dominguez is still in the hands of Ramón Monegal Maso.
When Puig stopped producing Myrurgia fragrances in 2008, Ramón Monegal Maso left Puig and, after a year off during which he wrote a perfume book, founded his own brand in 2009. "Maja" was sold to Mexico in 2012.
In 2003, the exhibition "Myrurgia 1916 - 1939 Belleza y Glamour" was opened in the "Museo Nacional d'Art de Catalunya", testimony to the extraordinary creativity of Myrurgia.
In 1917, Ramón Monegal's son, Esteve Monegal Prat, took over Myrurgia and from then on was the face of the company. Esteve Monegal was a sculptor and teacher and a friend of many contemporary artists. His schooling and education did not take place - like that of his father - at a technical school and as private lessons, but at schools in Barcelona and Paris. The 3rd generation of the family already achieved university degrees and received perfumery training in Grasse, Paris and Geneva.
Under the leadership of father Rámon Monegal as president and his son Esteve as the face of the company, Myrurgia grew into one of the largest perfume houses in Spain. Rámon Monegal ran the company until the late 1940s, before it finally passed to his son Esteve.
"Colonia 1916" was followed by other successful fragrances from 1917, such as "Promesa" and "Maderas de Oriente" (available today in reformulated form). "Maderas de Oriente" was originally offered in a wooden over-bottle that held the glass bottle containing the fragrance. Each bottle also contained a small piece of wood.
In 1918, Myrurgia's most famous and successful fragrance was launched - "Maja" (pronounced "Macha"), inspired by a famous contemporary Spanish flamenco dancer. For trademark reasons - there was already a fragrance called "Maja" from Switzerland at the time - "Maja" was sold outside Spain under the name "Goyesca" for an extended period.
"Maja", which was reissued in 1945, was followed by many other fragrances, including many floral fragrances that are hardly known today, but also fragrances such as "Orgia" (1922), "Suspiro de Granada" (1922), "Flor de Blasón" (1927), "Embrujo de Sevilla" (1933) and "Joya" (1933), to name only the most important ones.
Esteve Monegal Prat led Myrurgia to become the most successful Spanish perfume company between 1950 and 1960. After his death in 1970, his eldest son Esteban (father of Ramón Monegal Maso) successfully continued the company, later also passing it on to his eldest son and brother of Ramón Monegal Maso.
In 1972, Ramón Monegal Maso, 4th generation descendant of the founding family and great-grandson of the founder Ramón Monegal, began his perfume career at and with Myrurgia, creating his first own fragrance, "Alada" in 1979, which is hardly available today. Ramón Monegal Maso founded his own brand - RM - in 2009 and owns an exclusive retail store in Barcelona, described by the press as "a temple of perfume", where he sells his fragrances.
Over the years, Myrurgia has signed many licensing agreements and produced fragrances under license for Massimo Dutti, Adolfo Dominguez, Don Algodón, Julio Iglesias, Seve Ballesteros, Panama Jack, Antonio Miró, among others.
In the 80's Myrurgia bought Dr. Payot and Etienne Aigner perfumes. In 2001, Ramón Monegal's older brother - a banker by trade - sold Myrurgia to Puig. Until 2008, some fragrances continued to be produced under the Myrurgia name, such as "Maja", as well as the fragrances of Don Algodón or even Adolfo Dominguez. Today, the responsibility for the fragrances of Adolfo Dominguez is still in the hands of Ramón Monegal Maso.
When Puig stopped producing Myrurgia fragrances in 2008, Ramón Monegal Maso left Puig and, after a year off during which he wrote a perfume book, founded his own brand in 2009. "Maja" was sold to Mexico in 2012.
In 2003, the exhibition "Myrurgia 1916 - 1939 Belleza y Glamour" was opened in the "Museo Nacional d'Art de Catalunya", testimony to the extraordinary creativity of Myrurgia.
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