(I posted a version of this yesterday but was not happy with it.  So, I have recast it as follows.)

This is the story of a strange bottle of an unusual elixir purchased recently in an apothecary shop in Florence.  I love these old-world shops and their mysterious contents. I wish there was enough time to examine and research every single product contained within their sphinx like walls.

I must admit I first purchased this item simply because I was intrigued by it.  I liked the glass bottle, the graphic label, and the color of the liquid.

It’s all very cool, don’t you agree?  I had no idea if I would like the taste of the liquid, but it seemed like a small risk.

I flipped the bottle around and saw that it was made in Florence.  That alone makes it fun to buy and experiment with. What did I have to lose besides a few Euro?

I got it home and followed the directions.  I mixed a few drops (1/2 a teaspoon is what I used) in a small glass of water and gargled with it.  It tasted herby and earthy and not unpleasant.  It tasted kind of like a Florentine potpourri smells.

Great.  I’m intrigued.

Now, I wonder: what is the history of the potion and why is it labeled in French?  Is it French or is it Italian?

 

 

The Latin phrase at the top of the graphic label “cui fides vide” would make a good motto for life: “watch whom you trust.”  Hmmmm.  Interesting.  A warning on a bottle of a strange liquid.

The back label explains that this tincture was “invented in 1755 by Dr. Julien Botot for Louis XV, the king of France.”  Now this is getting really interesting!

So, let’s remind ourselves a little bit about who Louis XV:  king of France from 1715 to  and best known for contributing to the decline of royal authority that led to the French Revolution in 1789. Ouch!  Madame de Pompadour was his mistress.

It is clear from paintings of the guy that he enjoyed some royal splendor, that’s for sure!

For the intrepid blog reader, here’s a video on Louis:

 

We must recall the state of royal hygiene in the 18th century.  Bathing was optional and dental care unheard of.  Oral hygiene, heretofore, consisted of an occasional borax scrub with some twigs, which was very hard on the enamel.

King Louis XV would have depended upon perfumes and powders to conceal the consequences of his very infrequent bathing.  Moreover, history regales us with stories of Louis XV’s debauchery, so one can imagine he might have liked to tidy up his person.

His royal highness turned to his trusty physician, Dr. Edme François Julien Botot, for advice on freshening up his imperial mouth. In 1755 the good doctor designed the potent herbal rinse now under our examination, made with cinnamon, ginger, anise and a natural gillyflower (part of the clove family) base.

Thus “eau de Botot” is considered to be the world’s first antiseptic mouthwash, produced not in France as one would expect but instead for some reason I cannot discern in Florence. But, for me that just makes it more interesting since I pretty much love anything produced in Florence!

Dr. Botot also created a toothpaste for Louis XV, which is still available today as well.  I just happen to prefer a glass bottle to a tube when I am choosing products. Both the mouthwash and the toothpaste are still produced by world-famous Manetti and Roberts.

 

It is worth recalling that days after Louis XV’s grandson, Louis XVI, gave Botot a royal endorsement, the revolutionaries stormed the Bastille.  While the monarchy went down in a series of swift severings, Botot mouthwash lived on!  Crazy product from pre-revolutionary France lives on today!

Botot “eau de bouche” is still made from the original French formula.  The recipe hasn’t changed since it received its nod of approval as a Superior Natural Product from the Royal Society of Medicine of France in 1785.

Botot products (these along with powder and soap) have clearly enjoyed a long life in France and Italy and here are just a few of some of their historical adverts.

       

 

Who knew that a bottle of a brown liquid produced in Florence with a label in French would tie my daily life into pre-revolutionary France.  Wonders never cease!