Farina's Kölnisch Wasser – a History of Plagiarism
11 years ago
The German city Solingen near Cologne has a small but attractive sight: the Museum Plagiarius! This place is dedicated to piracy of products. They get their exhibits from the German customs authorities as well as from a fairly large number of companies who have to cope with that problem. At Plagiarius, they have everything twice. Next to the original you see the copy, and the range covers harmless coffee pots but also highly unsafe motor saws and even motor bikes.
Last week, a special exhibition was opened: Farina Eau de Cologne – 220 Years of Fight Against Plagiarists. It is a complete room full of old and new perfume bottles, but also historical documents that show the history of their chagrin.
Farina is said to be the world's oldest perfume house. They date their foundation back to the year 1709 when the Italian immigrants Johann Baptist Farina and Johann Maria Farina settled down in Cologne. Amongst many other products and services, they started selling their Eau de Cologne, as it is called now, under the brand name "Johann Maria Farina gegenüber dem Jülichs-Platz" (opposite the Jülich square). The trouble began more than 80 years later when a certain Wilhelm Mülhens began selling his Acqua Mirabilis in Cologne, and he also used the name Farina for it! Allegedly, a mysterious Carthusian monk named Franz Carl Gereon Maria Farina had given him the formulation as a wedding gift, along with the approval to use the name. Other ressources indicate he had found an Italian named Farina in nearby Bonn who he acquired the name from, and who had nothing to do with the Cologne perfumers.
It took the real Farina many decades until the annoying competitor finally and forever changed his brand to "Eau de Cologne- und Parfümerie-Fabrik Glockengasse No. 4711 gegenüber der Pferdepost von Ferd. Mülhens", after a lost court case. It was a Pyrrhic victory – Wilhelm Mulhens very soon had sold the name Farina to a large number of persons who all started their Farina Eau de Cologne businesses. A meticulous list shows the use of the many variants of the name Farina: Bill and Bob Farina, opposite nearly all squares of Cologne, and of course, the Cologne Cathedral!
Historical perfume bottles are an interesting sight, no matter if copy or original. Sometimes, it is gross forgery, sometimes it comes very close to the original. The choice for this exhibition obviously was made by Farina itself, it is anything but neutral. There is one point where I cannot follow: the presentation of an artificial and sculptural Farina perfume bottle shaped like a human's head. Next to it, as alleged plagiarism, they show us the completely different looking JPG Kokorico bottle, with its product name turned to the back side of the display cabinet. Does that mean, according to Farina, only they are allowed to sell perfume in a head-shaped bottle?
In the end, these exhibits do not only tell us about abstract legal claims and strange forgeries. Behind all this, there is human tragic. What does it mean for a family of entrepreneurs if they cannot get rid of this problem over centuries?
As a customer, I want Farina to give us new perfumes, and leave the old and new quarrels to lawyers and historians. Their re-release of Russisch Leder in 2011 was a good sign. Anyway, the most sustaining memory of this exhibition was the faint smell of Farina Eau de Cologne that lingered in the room. On my way back home, I found out that it layers well with the perfume I was wearing (Sartorial), providing both freshness and a considerable depth. And of course, it is far better than 4711!
Please don't blame me for plagiarism – here are my ressources:
www.plagiarius.com/museum_plag.html
www.rheinische-geschichte.lvr.de/persoenlichke iten/M/Seiten/M%C3%BClhens.aspx
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_M%C3%BClhens
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_M%C3%BClhens
Last week, a special exhibition was opened: Farina Eau de Cologne – 220 Years of Fight Against Plagiarists. It is a complete room full of old and new perfume bottles, but also historical documents that show the history of their chagrin.
Farina is said to be the world's oldest perfume house. They date their foundation back to the year 1709 when the Italian immigrants Johann Baptist Farina and Johann Maria Farina settled down in Cologne. Amongst many other products and services, they started selling their Eau de Cologne, as it is called now, under the brand name "Johann Maria Farina gegenüber dem Jülichs-Platz" (opposite the Jülich square). The trouble began more than 80 years later when a certain Wilhelm Mülhens began selling his Acqua Mirabilis in Cologne, and he also used the name Farina for it! Allegedly, a mysterious Carthusian monk named Franz Carl Gereon Maria Farina had given him the formulation as a wedding gift, along with the approval to use the name. Other ressources indicate he had found an Italian named Farina in nearby Bonn who he acquired the name from, and who had nothing to do with the Cologne perfumers.
It took the real Farina many decades until the annoying competitor finally and forever changed his brand to "Eau de Cologne- und Parfümerie-Fabrik Glockengasse No. 4711 gegenüber der Pferdepost von Ferd. Mülhens", after a lost court case. It was a Pyrrhic victory – Wilhelm Mulhens very soon had sold the name Farina to a large number of persons who all started their Farina Eau de Cologne businesses. A meticulous list shows the use of the many variants of the name Farina: Bill and Bob Farina, opposite nearly all squares of Cologne, and of course, the Cologne Cathedral!
Historical perfume bottles are an interesting sight, no matter if copy or original. Sometimes, it is gross forgery, sometimes it comes very close to the original. The choice for this exhibition obviously was made by Farina itself, it is anything but neutral. There is one point where I cannot follow: the presentation of an artificial and sculptural Farina perfume bottle shaped like a human's head. Next to it, as alleged plagiarism, they show us the completely different looking JPG Kokorico bottle, with its product name turned to the back side of the display cabinet. Does that mean, according to Farina, only they are allowed to sell perfume in a head-shaped bottle?
In the end, these exhibits do not only tell us about abstract legal claims and strange forgeries. Behind all this, there is human tragic. What does it mean for a family of entrepreneurs if they cannot get rid of this problem over centuries?
As a customer, I want Farina to give us new perfumes, and leave the old and new quarrels to lawyers and historians. Their re-release of Russisch Leder in 2011 was a good sign. Anyway, the most sustaining memory of this exhibition was the faint smell of Farina Eau de Cologne that lingered in the room. On my way back home, I found out that it layers well with the perfume I was wearing (Sartorial), providing both freshness and a considerable depth. And of course, it is far better than 4711!
Please don't blame me for plagiarism – here are my ressources:
www.plagiarius.com/museum_plag.html
www.rheinische-geschichte.lvr.de/persoenlichke iten/M/Seiten/M%C3%BClhens.aspx
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_M%C3%BClhens
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_M%C3%BClhens
Sounds like an interesting museum, Apicius.
