4711
4711 is a brand of eau de toilette from the German company Mäurer & Wirtz GmbH & Co. KG and one of the best-known German brand items.
History
In 1803, Wilhelm Mülhens bought a license and the rights to a company from Carlo Francesco Farina (Santa Maria, August 5, 1755 - Düsseldorf, September 25, 1830) in Bonn. After this W. Mülhens sold the license to more than 20 people, despite not having the rights.
In 1835, the transaction was voided and all companies liquidated. Later the son of W. Mülhens searched for a new bearer of the name from Italy. Finally, in 1881, the nephew Ferdinand Mülhens was sentenced not to use the Farina name in the company. He then opted for his old house number, 4711 , as the name of his firm and his brand.
Until 1990 it was called Eau de Cologne & Perfumerie Fabrik Glockengasse No. 4711 gegenüber der Pferdepost von Ferd. Mülhens in Köln am Rhein.
In 1990 it was renamed Mülhens S.A. & Co. KG. In 1994 the Mülhens Family sold their firm to Wella AG Darmstadt. Since 1997, Wella AG has operated its cosmetics activities under the name Cosmopolitan Cosmetics S.A., which is also owned by Mülhens S.A. & Co.KG.
In 2003 Wella AG was taken over by the American company Procter & Gamble.
As of July 1, 2005, the perfume store Cosmopolitan Cosmetics Prestige, Muelhens und Procter & Gamble Prestige Beauté came under the control of Procter & Gamble Prestige Products GmbH.
In the summer of 2006, P&G announced its intention to disassociate itself from the 4711 brand and three other Mühlens brands (Tosca, Sir Irisch Moos and Extase), because they did not fit into the consortium's strategy and then move on to focus on brands with global growth potential.
After several months, the brands and the Glockengasse 4 building were sold to the perfumery Mäurer & Wirtz from Aachen, belonging to the Dalli group. On May 23, 2007, the first bottle of 4711 was produced there.
Numbering of the year 1794 in Cologne
Before the uprising of the French troops, the city council of Cologne approved on October 3, 1794 the proposal of the Commission of the Guard: before the Organization Plan of the Security Guard could be finished in its entirety, (...) all houses in the city without exception - even if they were in a remote place - should be numbered and illuminated. The lighting was immediately arranged, the numbering was sent to the office. Source: HAStK, Bestand 10 (Ratsprotokolle) Nr. 241, Bl. 216v.
On October 6, 1794, the French occupied the city. On October 7, the Council of forty-four decides that each citizen who is the head of the family must send a list to the District Administration, they have between 2 and 24 hours to do so, calling themselves a citizen or not and (...) the The numbering of their houses was sent to the "laudable Guard Commission", which was in charge of its execution. Source: HAStK, Bestand 10 (Ratsprotokolle) Nr. 241, Bl. 255v.
On October 20, 1794, notes the family counselor Gottfried de Gall in his diary, the numbering continued 8 days after it began. All the houses were numbered.
Printer Heinrich Josef Metternich (Council Partner) requests permission to publish an address book containing house numbers and other necessary data. With this he accentuated the organization of the police device... All the houses in the city were numbered after the Municipal Ordinance Source: HAStK, Bestand 350 (Franz. Verw.) Nr. 306, Bl. 3-6.
The widow of Wilhelm de Lemmen Seel is listed in the second Cologne address book from 1797 as inhabiting the house at Glockengasse, which was numbered 4711. Source: RWWA Abt. 33, 2. Adreßbuch: Gemeinnütziger... Adresse-Kalender der Stadt Köllen, Köln, 1797, S. 103.
Only in the third address book of 1797 is Wilhelm Mülhens mentioned as an inhabitant, he is recognized under the name "speculation shop professional"; on the other hand, it has not yet been mentioned under the name of manufacturer of Eau de Colonia in the catalog of this branch. Source: RWWA Abt. 33, 3. Adreßbuch: Verzeichnus der stadt-Kölnischen Einwohner, Köln 1797, S. 179.
In the year 1811 the numbering of the houses was suppressed again, and the way of numbering the streets was adapted to the one that is already usual today. The house Glockengasse Nr. 4711 received the number 12 in this way. Source: Quelle: RWWA Abt.33, Itinéraire de Cologne, 1813, S. 12.
In the prologue of the French address book of 1813, Publisher Thiriart states that before the arrival of the French in Cologne there was no house numbering (inconnu à Cologne avant l'arivée des armées francaises au bord du Rhin), and that this had been arranged in 1795. The legend begins here. Source: RWWA Abt. 33, Itineraire de Cologne, 1813, S. 12.
In 1854, Peter Joseph Mülhens leaves the house at Glockengasse 12 and moves into the newly built business house, with its neo-Gothic façade, at Glockengasse 26-28. House number 12, which had received the number 4711 in 1794, initially remained empty and was later demolished after its sale. Source: RWWA Abt.33 Kölner Adressbücher.
The image of the French officer on horseback who writes the number 4711 on top of the facade of the house located on Glockengasse street is a product of advertising. For this they took as a model a Gobelin that was commissioned in the 1920s. This paid off years later, as it achieved great popularity in the 50s and 60s. Source: RWWA Abt. 33, 160 Jahre No. 4711, Köln 1952.