Scents of Time, subtitled Perfume From Ancient Egypt to the 21st Century, is a gift set that was published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1999. An outer box sleeve opens to reveal the book along with eight perfume minatures developed by Givaudan to illustrate the "most influential scents in history": frankincense, rose, sandalwood jasmine, orange blossom, spice, eau de cologne, millefleurs, and sportif.

The text provides a nicely illustrated survey of perfume history. A short introductory chapter introduces the major scent families, along with some basic production techniques and perfume terminology. Subsequent chapters explore various times and cultures: first ancient times in the Fertile Crescent, then the classical world of Greece and Rome, the East (including early Islamic perfumery and India), and East Asia. Most of the second half of the book is devoted to the development of perfumery in the West, from the Middle Ages to the present day.

It is not a long book (111 pages), and because of the large number of illustrations, the text is relatively brief, but it does provide a useful introduction to the subject, and the fragrances, while basic, would be useful to a novice. They are nicely packaged with plastic stoppers beneath the caps to prevent leakage, and mine have held up very well.

I am fairly sure this book is no longer in print, but I had no trouble locating a copy last year.