Albert Fouquet, son of a Parisian aristocrat, was part of elite French society in the early twentieth century and a perfume connoisseur. In a room of the family chateau, Fouquet created essences for his own personal use aided by Philippe, the family butler. One night during his summer vacation in 1937 on the French Riviera, Albert met and got on very well with a young American student who was touring France in a convertible: John F.K. JFK was captivated by the essence that Albert wore – John’s charm and congeniality persuaded Albert to leave him a sample of his cologne with a note “In this bottle, you will find the dash of French glamour that your American personality lacks” On returning from his vacation, Albert received a letter from John thanking him for the kind gesture. He requested Albert send him eight samples, “and if your production allows, another one for Bob”. He ordered several boxes decorated with the same pattern as the shirt that JFK was wearing when they met, and labelled the bottles and boxes with John’s amusing request: “Eight & Bob” Albert began receiving letters from America with requests from Hollywood directors, producers and actors – everyone wanted Eight & Bob. Unfortunately, the success of his cologne would not spread much further – in the spring of 1939, Albert died in an accident. Philoppe,k the only person who could – would continue with the work for a few months before the War forced him to leave his job. In the final shipments, Philippe hid the bottles inside books that he carefully cut by hand to prevent the Nazis from seizing them This 100ml Eight & Bob comes hidden inside a book
