A PODCAST FROM IMMORTAL PERFUMES
The Scent
Archive
Curious histories, bottled
EP 02 - APRIL 29, 2026
THE DOCTOR AND THE ATOMIZER
How a Civil War veteran in Toledo accidentally invented the perfume atomizer
Dr. Allen DeVilbiss was sick of shoving goose grease down his patients' throats to treat infections. So he built the first atomizer in his Toledo shed from an oil can and a rubber ball. His son Thomas turned this medical device into Art Deco masterpieces that would change how America wore perfume.
YOUR HOST
JT Siems
PERFUME HISTORIAN · EDUCATOR · WRITER
JT Siems is the founder of Immortal Perfumes, a Seattle-based literary micro-perfumery. Obsessed with history, she is a perfume historian, educator, writer, and international award-winning perfumer.
THE GILDED AGE: ASTORS VS VANDERBILTS PT. 1
Gilded Age New York was all about flaunting your money. And no one did it better than the first families of excess, the Astors and the Vanderbilts. Part one of a multi part series, today we’re looking at the life of Caroline Astor, the “Mystic Rose” and arbiter of taste in New York Society. You’ll want to listen to the episode to get primed on the new HBO series, The Gilded Age. Tune in!