W A Poucher - The Perfumed Mountaineer

[Vincent Lowe]

There's a radio programme on BBC Sounds at the moment about the famous mountain photographer and perfume expert W A Poucher.  Anyone going about the British hills in the 60s and 70s almost certainly had a copy of his pictorial guides stuffed into his or her rucksack.  I still have my well thumbed copies.  I also have a first edition of his classic 'The Magic of Skye'.

 

He was also a a leading researcher who specialised in the chemistry of perfumes and soaps, and in 1923 published a three volume text book which is still in print today.  He often wore makeup, sometimes even in mountain huts.

 

There's a famous clip on youtube of his 1980 appearance on the Russell Harty chat show along with Grace Jones.  Grace got annoyed with Russell and started hitting him.  WA appears about 5 minutes into the video.

 

The Perfumed Mountaineer - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01hf12x

 

 

 

 

Edited January 16, 2021 by Vincent Lowe