Papier d’Arménie | How an Armenian Inspiration Became a French Scented-Paper Tradition

To carry this history forward rather than let it become diluted within a corporate group or an investment fund.

Arnaud Schvartz

The name “Papier d’Arménie” might suggest a fragrant product made in Armenia. Yet the small booklets of scented paper were invented in France, where they continue to be produced today.

The story begins in 1885, when a Frenchman named Auguste Ponsot encountered the Armenian custom of burning aromatic resin to perfume homes. The idea he brought back was developed by pharmacist Henri Rivier into a method of impregnating paper with fragrance. In 1888, Papier d’Arménie was born in the form of a small booklet containing strips of scented paper.

Contents

Basic Information
The Founders and the Origins of the Brand
The Brand’s Approach to Fragrance and Craftsmanship
References

Basic Information

Brand: Papier d’Arménie
Founded: 1885 (the scented-paper booklet was introduced in 1888)
Key figures in its founding: Auguste Ponsot and Henri Rivier
Country of origin: France
Manufacturing location: Montrouge, France
Current head: Arnaud Schvartz
Official website: Papier d’Arménie

The Founders and the Origins of the Brand

1885: Auguste Ponsot Discovers an Armenian Fragrance Tradition

In the late nineteenth century, Auguste Ponsot traveled to Armenia, where he encountered the local custom of burning aromatic resin to scent indoor spaces. That resin was benzoin, which would later become the central ingredient in Papier d’Arménie.

Benzoin is an aromatic resin obtained from trees. It has a warm, sweet, balsamic scent and has long been used in perfumery. At the time, burning resin was also associated with the belief that it could purify indoor air. It was this tradition of using fragrance in the home that caught Ponsot’s attention.

Henri Rivier: The Pharmacist Who Helped Turn Fragrance into Paper

The person who worked alongside Ponsot to develop the product was the pharmacist Henri Rivier.

Rivier recognized that dissolving benzoin in 90-degree alcohol could produce a liquid capable of releasing the resin’s fragrance over time. He then added other aromatic ingredients to create a more complex scented mixture.

But a liquid alone could not conveniently reproduce the practice Ponsot had witnessed in Armenia. The two men therefore turned to blotting paper, a material capable of readily absorbing liquids.

Paper could be impregnated with fragrance and cut into narrow strips for use in small quantities. When properly treated, it could also be lit and then have its flame extinguished, allowing it to smolder slowly and release its scent.

The Birth of the Booklet in 1888 and the 1889 Paris Exposition

A small booklet of detachable scented-paper strips offered something different from a block of resin or a container of liquid fragrance. Individual strips could be removed as needed, while the remaining paper could be stored conveniently in booklet form. Ponsot and Rivier’s invention lay not only in their use of fragrant ingredients but also in turning them into a practical, easy-to-handle product.

In 1889, Papier d’Arménie received a gold medal at the Paris Exposition Universelle. It was also the year the Eiffel Tower was completed. Recognition at an international exhibition that brought together industrial innovations and new products from around the world marked an important early achievement for the young brand.

Manufacturing in Montrouge and the Continuity of Family Ownership

Papier d’Arménie has continued to manufacture its products in Montrouge, immediately south of Paris. The factory remains there today, preserving the processes involved in making its scented paper.

Another defining aspect of the brand is that management has been passed down through the family of Henri Rivier, who helped develop the original product.

In the early 1990s, Mireille Schvartz, Henri Rivier’s great-granddaughter, took over the business.

Although she had inherited a traditional product, Mireille also faced the challenge of a business that had lost momentum. At the time she took over, annual production reportedly stood at approximately 250,000 booklets.

Mireille strengthened sales efforts and introduced approaches suited to changing times, including collaborations with advertising agencies and online sales. By 2016, annual production had grown to more than two million booklets.

While maintaining traditional production methods, she modernized the ways the products reached customers. Her own words reflect this balance:

We are a long-established company, and we are still family-owned.

Mireille Schvartz

During the 2010s, Papier d’Arménie also received the Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (EPV) designation, a French recognition awarded to companies that preserve exceptional traditional and industrial know-how. Processes such as impregnating, drying, and sorting the paper are regarded as distinctive elements of the brand’s manufacturing expertise.

2025: The Fifth Generation Takes Over Under Arnaud Schvartz

In September 2025, Mireille Schvartz handed over management of the company to her son, Arnaud Schvartz. Arnaud represents the fifth generation of Henri Rivier’s family.

For Arnaud, the aim is to carry the company’s history forward as an independent family business rather than allow it to disappear into the structure of a larger corporate group. Preserving the brand’s heritage while adapting it for the future has become an inseparable part of Papier d’Arménie’s direction today.

The Brand’s Approach to Fragrance and Craftsmanship

Making Scented Paper with Benzoin at Its Heart

Benzoin is an aromatic resin obtained from trees. Known for its warm, sweet fragrance, it is also used in perfumery to create balsamic and amber-like effects.

Papier d’Arménie uses this resin as the foundation of its scented paper. According to the brand’s current official information, its ingredients include benzoin sourced from Laos. Although the brand’s name reflects its Armenian inspiration, its fragrance ingredients are not all sourced from Armenia.

At the beginning of production, benzoin resin is dissolved in alcohol, allowing its fragrance to be extracted over time. Other aromatic ingredients are then added to prepare the liquid used to impregnate the paper. The precise formula remains a closely guarded manufacturing secret.

A Manufacturing Process of Around Six Months: Impregnation, Drying, and Pressing

Producing a small booklet takes approximately six months. According to the brand’s official materials, the manufacturing process involves at least twelve stages.

First, the benzoin-based aromatic solution is prepared over an extended period. The paper then undergoes impregnation treatments using different liquids, giving it the properties required to retain fragrance and burn as intended. Drying and pressing follow to bring the paper into the proper condition.

Paper readily absorbs liquids, but its shape can change depending on how it becomes wet and how it dries. The manufacturing process must therefore achieve two things at once: allow the paper to absorb enough fragrance while preserving its suitability for use in booklet form.

Arnaud describes the difficulty of rushing the process in particularly tangible terms:

If you go too fast, the paper tells you immediately. It loses its balance, becomes distorted, and tears.

Arnaud Schvartz

Once dried, the paper is sorted by hand and cut to the appropriate dimensions. It is then assembled into booklets and packaged.

How the Paper Releases Fragrance Through Slow Smoldering

Papier d’Arménie’s scented booklets work by allowing a strip of paper to smolder slowly after it has been lit and the flame extinguished, releasing fragrance into the surrounding space.

To use it, a single strip is detached, folded into an accordion shape, and placed on a heat-resistant dish. The strip is lit, and the flame is then blown out so that the paper can smolder. In accordance with the brand’s official instructions, the room should be ventilated, and the burning paper must never be left unattended.

2006: “Arménie,” Created with Francis Kurkdjian

For many years, Papier d’Arménie had centered its range on the fragrance known as “Tradition.” In 2006, a new creative opportunity emerged.

Against the backdrop of cultural exchanges celebrating Armenia in France, Mireille Schvartz began collaborating with perfumer Francis Kurkdjian.

Created in 2006, “Arménie” was initially conceived as a limited project. It subsequently became a permanent fragrance and joined the brand’s established collection.

In “Arménie,” amber and vanilla-like notes are combined with myrrh and essential oil obtained from the leaves of Ceylon cinnamon.

2009: “Rose” Expands the Brand’s Fragrance Expression

The collaboration with Kurkdjian did not end with “Arménie.” In 2009, the brand introduced “Rose.”

This creation places rose at its center, combining it with fruity elements, spices, and nuances reminiscent of vanilla and honey.

While “Tradition” represents the brand’s original benzoin-centered identity and “Arménie” develops its fragrance in an amber and spicy direction, “Rose” brings a floral composition to the same paper medium.

The brand has since expanded its fragrance offerings into scented candles and other formats. Yet the starting point for understanding its creative approach remains the original paper booklet. The collaboration with Kurkdjian demonstrated that this traditional format could accommodate new fragrance compositions.

Preserving the Method While Expanding the Possibilities of Fragrance

Ponsot and Rivier transformed a custom encountered in Armenia into a French paper product. Mireille modernized the company’s distribution and communication while preserving its traditional product, and her collaboration with Kurkdjian broadened its fragrance repertoire. Since 2025, Arnaud has taken responsibility for continuing both the business and its manufacturing tradition.