The June 1922 issue of Science and Invention magazine featured a rather peculiar invention which envisioned an entirely new (and entirely silent) kind of concert.
The invention was based on the theories of Dr Septimus Piesse, a French chemist and perfumer who wrote the 1857 book The Art of Perfumery.
Piesse often used music as a way to talk about how certain smells could work together. Just as certain notes could be played together in harmony, while others caused discord and were unpleasant to the ear, so too could certain smells be combined to create a beautiful bouquet while others smell terrible when combined.
Science and Invention took Piesse’s theories and ran with them, imagining a new kind of concert where musicians might “play” smells rather than sounds.
The “heavier” odours have been assigned the low notes on the organ while the “sharper” pungent odours are found where the high notes would be on a regular keyboard.
Read more >>> http://www.psmag.com/nature-and-technology/smell-organ-50062
