Two men are credited to be the first to begin distilling the oil of the ylang ylang – Albertus Schwenger and Frederick Steck. “…the first distillation of the oil is credited to Albertus Schwenger, who operated a small mobile still in the Philippines in the mid-nineteenth century, and the first commercial operation was started by Steck, who ran a German apothecary, and his nephew Paul Sartorius; the oil was marketed as “Ylang Ylang Sartorius” and it gained an international reputation. Ylang ylang oil was one of the new scents exhibited at the Paris World Exhibition in 1878 (Morris 1984).” Locally known as Don Frederiko, Steck owned Botica de Santa Cruz located on the Escolta. F. Stek would be the first to devote himself in Manila to the distillation of ilang-ilang oil [Pharm. Zentralh 9. (1868) 46]; the Sartorius brand of this essence, then the object of a flourishing industry in Manila, came to acquire a worldwide claim.” Alexander Schadenberg: his life and work in the Philippines / Otto Scheerer. Botica Santa CruzBotica Santa Cruz “His enterprise won the gold medal and highest awards at the expositions of Madrid in 1887 and St. Louis in 1904 under the trade mark of “Pablo Sartorius,” his nephew’s name. (The patent for “ilang-ilang” now belongs to YSL and it is sourced mainly from India.) It commanded the highest prices in the European market. A total of 2.504 kilos was exported in 1914. Seeing the success of Steck, others came up with similar products but of inferior quality or produced even artificial oils, causing the market to falter. The market never recovered, especially since the places where “ilang-ilang” grew were converted into housing projects.”
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 04:01:32 +0000