Farina gegenüber
Encyclopedia
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: John Maria Farina opposite Jülich's Place) is the world's oldest Eau de Cologne
Eau de Cologne
Eau de Cologne or simply Cologne is a toiletry, a perfume in a style that originated from Cologne, Germany. It is nowadays a generic term for scented formulations in typical concentration of 2-5% essential oils. However as of today cologne is a blend of extracts, alcohol, and water...
and perfume
Perfume
Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and/or aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces "a pleasant scent"...
factory. It was founded at the beginning of the 18th century by Giovanni Maria Farina (German: Johann Maria Farina), an Italian perfume maker who started his business in 1709. The company's logo is a red tulip
Tulip
The tulip is a perennial, bulbous plant with showy flowers in the genus Tulipa, which comprises 109 species and belongs to the family Liliaceae. The genus's native range extends from as far west as Southern Europe, North Africa, Anatolia, and Iran to the Northwest of China. The tulip's centre of...
. The French name "Jean Marie Farina vis à vis de la place Juliers" and the short form "Farina gegenüber" were also commonly used over a long period of time.
The company is still run by the founder’s descendants, who are the 8th generation of family members. The company has held Royal Warrant
Royal Warrant
Royal warrants of appointment have been issued for centuries to those who supply goods or services to a royal court or certain royal personages. The warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the royal family, so lending prestige to the supplier...
s as purveyors of perfume to the German, French, Italian and British Royal Families
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
. The company headquarters and birthplace of Eau de Cologne
Eau de Cologne
Eau de Cologne or simply Cologne is a toiletry, a perfume in a style that originated from Cologne, Germany. It is nowadays a generic term for scented formulations in typical concentration of 2-5% essential oils. However as of today cologne is a blend of extracts, alcohol, and water...
are both to be found in Farina House in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
where the Farina Fragrance Museum
Fragrance museum
The Farina Fragrance Museum is situated across from Cologne City Hall, and near the famous Wallraf-Richartz-Museum in the Obenmarspforten in Innenstadt, Cologne...
is also located.
Ancestors
The founding of Farina House dates back to the early 18th century. In June 1709, Johann Baptist Farina travelled to CologneCologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, where his younger brother Johann Maria Farina
Johann Maria Farina
thumb|Johann Maria Farina 1685-1766Giovanni Maria Farina was an Italian perfume designer and maker, born on 8 December 1685, in the town of Santa Maria Maggiore...
had been working for his uncle since 1708. On 13 July, Johann Baptist Farina (Italian: Giovanni Battista Farina) founded the company G.B.Farina and, from that point on, started his book-keeping, which has never been interrupted since.
On 17 July 1709, Johann Baptist Farina registered as a new resident at Cologne town hall and on the 24th was granted free citizenship. In those days, this procedure was necessary for a settler to set up a private business. With the support of his uncle, who was a member of the Maastricht government, and the salesman Johann Maria Farina (real name Giovanni Maria Farina), Johann Baptist Farina (II) signed on 1 August 1709 a twelve year contract to rent a building at the junction of the streets Großen Bottengassen and Goldschmidts, now known as Unter Goldschmidt, Cologne.
Johann Baptist and his brother-in-law, Franz Balthasar Borgnis, then founded 'Farina & Compagnie', which later developed into 'Gebrüder Farina & Comp.' (English: Farina Brothers and Co.) after Johann Maria Farina
Johann Maria Farina
thumb|Johann Maria Farina 1685-1766Giovanni Maria Farina was an Italian perfume designer and maker, born on 8 December 1685, in the town of Santa Maria Maggiore...
(I) and Carl Hieronymus Farina joined in 1714 and 1716. The Farina company sold a wide range of various luxury items, such as lace, handkerchiefs, silk stockings, wigs, feathers, tobacco boxes, sealing wax, face powder, and other such articles that one would have expected to find in a shop run by Italians.
Johann Maria Farina House
After 1716, Gebrüder Farina & Comp. experienced a number of financial difficulties which led to Franz Balthasar Borgnis’ and Carl Hieronymus Farina’s departures. This left Johann Baptist Farina (II) and Johann Maria Farina (I) at the head of the company, which was subsequently named 'Fratelli Farina' (English: Farina Brothers).In the years that followed, the two brothers concentrated on transporting goods, an enterprise, which, however, did not prove to be successful.
Johann Baptist Farina (II) died on 24 April 1732. In the subsequent months, Johann Maria (I) carried out an inventory before renaming the business 'Johann Maria Farina', a name which has remained unchanged ever since. After this change, business improved, as Farina (I) wrote in a letter addressed to his relative Francesco Barbieri back in Italy:
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After having been at the head of this business for no longer than two years, John Maria Farina was granted the right to citizenship
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
by the city of Cologne.
The following decades, the 1730s and 1740s, happened to be very prosperous ones, during which Farina (I) concentrated his efforts in the business of delivery, and it was only at the beginning of the 1760s that the perfume business took centre stage.
An astounding fragrance
In 1703, long before he joined his brother to found 'Farina & Compagnie' in 1714, John Maria Farina (I) put his skills to work and created a fragrance that was to become a great success. Indeed, the Italian perfume maker gave birth to a whole new type of complex fragrance which combined several essences with pure alcohol, an innovative combination.The fragrance was fresh, which contrasted to most of the known heavy scents of the time, such as cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
oil, sandalwood
Sandalwood
Sandalwood is the name of a class of fragrant woods from trees in the genus Santalum. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and unlike many other aromatic woods they retain their fragrance for decades. As well as using the harvested and cut wood in-situ, essential oils are also extracted...
oil or musk
Musk
Musk is a class of aromatic substances commonly used as base notes in perfumery. They include glandular secretions from animals such as the musk deer, numerous plants emitting similar fragrances, and artificial substances with similar odors. Musk was a name originally given to a substance with a...
.
In 1708, John Maria Farina wrote a letter to his brother, John Baptist Farina, in which he describes his perfume as follows:
“I have created a perfume which is reminiscent of a spring morning following a soft shower where fragrances of wild narcissi combine with that of sweet orange flowers. This perfume refreshes me and stimulates both my senses and imagination”.
The top note is essentially composed of citrus fruits, Bergamot
Bergamot
Bergamot may refer to:*The Bergamot orange*Monarda, genus of herbs of similar odor to the Bergamot orange; in particular**Monarda didyma, called Bergamot, Scarlet Beebalm, Scarlet Monarda, Oswego Tea, or Crimson Beebalm...
being the main component. The latter has to be picked whilst still green, as only the unripe peel is suitable for the production of Farina’s perfume. Furthermore, the fact that only natural essences were and still are used means that the perfume maker must blend and combine various vintages to obtain a constant fragrance. Plants react to various climatic changes, thus causing their scent to vary. Farina was meticulous in this regard and regularly set aside small samples of his perfume which were then used as comparisons to ensure his perfume did not undergo any changes. Some samples exist today.
Eau de Cologne takes over the European market
Initially, Farina limited the sale of his perfume to Cologne and Frankfurt’s trade centre. The first delivery dates back to 1716 when Farina sent 12 bottles to a Madame Billy in Aachen.From 1730 onwards, Farina’s list of customers expanded at a great pace and, according to records, 3700 bottles were delivered to a total of 39 addresses between 1730 and 1739. His perfume, which delighted the upper nobility, soon became a royal and imperial favourite.
By 1740, Eau de Cologne was a great success and sold in Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Strasburg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, Magdeburg
Magdeburg
Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....
, Trier
Trier
Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
, Wesel
Wesel
Wesel is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district.-Division of the town:Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighoven, Ginderich, Feldmark,Fusternberg, Büderich, Flüren and Blumenkamp.-History:...
, Kleve
Kleve
Kleve , is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century onwards, Kleve was capital of a county and later a duchy...
, Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, La Haye
La Haye
In French, La Haye mainly refers to The Hague in the NetherlandsLa Haye may also refer to the following communes in France:*La Haye, Seine-Maritime, in the Seine-Maritime département*La Haye, Vosges, in the Vosges département...
, Liège
Liège
Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....
, Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
, Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
, Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
, Braunschweig
Braunschweig
Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
, Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, Augsburg
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
, Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Bamberg
Bamberg
Bamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from...
, Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
, and Koblenz
Koblenz
Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
.
In a letter dated 9 April 1747, Farina explains that his perfume is known throughout Europe.
Packaging, quality seal and advertising
Johann Maria Farina (I) had his Eau de Cologne filled into long bottles, the so-called Rosoli bottle. Both full measures (8 ounces) and half measures of Eau de Cologne were sold and, in the 1760s, one could also find quarter bottles. Half bottles were most common and a dozen of them would have been sold for 6 ReichsthalerReichsthaler
The Reichsthaler was a standard Thaler of the Holy Roman Empire, established in 1566 by the Leipzig convention. It was also the name of a unit of account in northern Germany and of a silver coin issued by Prussia.-Reichsthaler coin:...
or 9 Guilder
Guilder
Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch gulden — from Old Dutch for 'golden'. The guilder originated as a gold coin but has been a common name for a silver or base metal coin for some centuries...
. The items were initially sold individually, whereas later Farina delivered his perfume in boxes of 4, 6, 8, 12 and 18 bottles.
The red seal, which bore the family crest and which appeared on all products, was a sign of quality and authenticity. Each delivery was also accompanied by a signed document on which the directions for use were printed. According to the document, Eau de Cologne was not exclusively intended for exterior use. It was described as good for dental hygiene, efficient against bad breath and a way of avoiding infectious diseases. In August 1785, a certain Mrs Duplessis from Nogent
Nogent
Nogent is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:* Nogent, in the Haute-Marne département* Nogent-l'Abbesse, in the Marne département* Nogent-l'Artaud, in the Aisne département* Nogent-sur-Aube, in the Aube département...
enquired whether Eau de Cologne could in any way help her paralysed husband. In his response, Johann Maria Farina (III) suggested she dampen some pieces of cloth in the perfume before applying them to her husband's aching limbs and recommended she add 50 drops of Eau de Cologne to his weekly drinking water. The letter ended as follows:
“At least you run no risk of harming him in any way”. However, the healing properties were removed from the instruction leaflet in 1811 and used only in advertisements. In 1803, the signature that had featured on the information leaflet was replaced by a stamp, which then made it possible to enclose a leaflet with each individual bottle.
The company under Johann Maria Farina (III), 1766-1792
Aristocrats
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Alexander II of Russia Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881... (1855) Georg, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz George, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg ruled the state of Mecklenburg-Strelitz from 1816 until his death.-Early life:... (1859) Friedrich Wilhelm, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Frederick William, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg, KG was a German sovereign who ruled over the state of Mecklenburg-Strelitz from 1860 until his death.-Biography:... (1862) Edward VII of the United Kingdom Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910... (1863) Luís I of Portugal |-... (1866) Louis III, Grand Duke of Hesse Louis III was Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine from 1848 until his death. He was succeeded by his nephew, Louis IV.... (1866) Napoleon III of France Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the President of the French Second Republic and as Napoleon III, the ruler of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I, christened as Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte... (1868) Charles I of Württemberg Charles was the third King of Württemberg, from 25 June 1864 until his death in 1891.-Early life:He was born 6 March 1823 at Stuttgart, as HRH Charles Frederick Alexander, Crown Prince of Württemberg the son of William I, King of Württemberg and his third wife Pauline Therese of Württemberg .He... (1868) Alexandra of Denmark Alexandra of Denmark was the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom... (1870) Ludwig II of Bavaria Ludwig II was King of Bavaria from 1864 until shortly before his death. He is sometimes called the Swan King and der Märchenkönig, the Fairy tale King... (1872) Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of... (1872) Elisabeth of Bavaria Elisabeth of Austria was the spouse of Franz Joseph I, and therefore both Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary. She also held the titles of Queen of Bohemia and Croatia, among others... (1872) Leopold III of Belgium Leopold III reigned as King of the Belgians from 1934 until 1951, when he abdicated in favour of the Heir Apparent,... (1873) Albert of Saxony Albert of Saxony may refer to:* Albert of Saxony * Albert I, Duke of Saxony * Albert, Duke of Saxony * Prince Albert of Saxony, Duke of Teschen * Albert of Saxony... (1873) Oscar II of Sweden Oscar II , baptised Oscar Fredrik was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death and King of Norway from 1872 until 1905. The third son of King Oscar I of Sweden and Josephine of Leuchtenberg, he was a descendant of Gustav I of Sweden through his mother.-Early life:At his birth in Stockholm, Oscar... (1874) Victoria, Princess Royal The Princess Victoria, Princess Royal was the eldest child of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert. She was created Princess Royal of the United Kingdom in 1841. She became German Empress and Queen of Prussia by marriage to German Emperor Frederick III... (1874) Victor Emmanuel II of Italy Victor Emanuel II was king of Sardinia from 1849 and, on 17 March 1861, he assumed the title King of Italy to become the first king of a united Italy since the 6th century, a title he held until his death in 1878... (1876) Christian IX of Denmark Christian IX was King of Denmark from 16 November 1863 to 29 January 1906.Growing up as a prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a junior branch of the House of Oldenburg which had ruled Denmark since 1448, Christian was originally not in the immediate line of succession to the Danish... (1877) Umberto I of Italy Umberto I or Humbert I , nicknamed the Good , was the King of Italy from 9 January 1878 until his death. He was deeply loathed in far-left circles, especially among anarchists, because of his conservatism and support of the Bava-Beccaris massacre in Milan... (1878) Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse Louis IV , was the fourth Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, reigning from 13 June 1877 until his death... (1879) William III of the Netherlands William III was from 1849 King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg until his death and the Duke of Limburg until the abolition of the Duchy in 1866.-Early life:William was born in Brussels as son of William II of the Netherlands and... (1880) Carol I of Romania Carol I , born Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was reigning prince and then King of Romania from 1866 to 1914. He was elected prince of Romania on 20 April 1866 following the overthrow of Alexandru Ioan Cuza by a palace coup... (1881) Frederick Francis II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Frederick Francis II was a Prussian officer and the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, reigning from 7 March 1842 until 15 April 1883.-Biography:... (1882) Frederick III, German Emperor Frederick III was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days in 1888, the Year of the Three Emperors. Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl known informally as Fritz, was the only son of Emperor William I and was raised in his family's tradition of military service... (1888) Otto of Bavaria Otto , was King of Bavaria from 1886 to 1913. He was the son of Maximilian II and his wife, Marie of Prussia, and younger brother of Ludwig II... (1894) Edward VII of the United Kingdom Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910... (1901) George V of the United Kingdom George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936.... (1910) Gustaf V of Sweden Gustaf V was King of Sweden from 1907. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg... (1927) Soraya Esfandiary Princess Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari was the second wife and Queen Consort of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the late Shah of Iran.-Birth:... (1951) |
Others
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Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s... (1889) Thomas Mann Thomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual... (1921) Franz Lehár Franz Lehár was an Austrian-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas of which the most successful and best known is The Merry Widow .-Biography:... (1925) Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer was a German statesman. He was the chancellor of the West Germany from 1949 to 1963. He is widely recognised as a person who led his country from the ruins of World War II to a powerful and prosperous nation that had forged close relations with old enemies France,... (1928) Marlene Dietrich Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films... (1935) Heinz Rühmann Heinrich Wilhelm "Heinz" Rühmann was a popular German film actor.-Life and work:Rühmann was born in Essen, Westphalia. His role in the 1930 movie Die Drei von der Tankstelle led him to film stardom. He remained highly popular as a comedic actor throughout the 1930s and early 1940s... (1939) Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists... (1959) Romy Schneider Romy Schneider was an Austrian-born German film actress who also held French citizenship.-Early life:Schneider was born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach in Nazi-era Vienna, six months after the Anschluss, into a family of actors that included her paternal grandmother Rosa Albach-Retty, her Austrian... (1959) Françoise Sagan Françoise Sagan – real name Françoise Quoirez – was a French playwright, novelist, and screenwriter. Hailed as "a charming little monster" by François Mauriac on the front page of Le Figaro, Sagan was known for works with strong romantic themes involving wealthy and disillusioned bourgeois... (1964) Hildegard Knef Hildegard Frieda Albertine Knef was a German actress, singer and writer. She was billed in some English language films as Hildegard Neff or Hildegarde Neff.-Early years:... (1970) |