Fragrance house

Harry Lehmann

Harry Lehmann was founded in Berlin on March 19, 1926, by Harry Lehmann and his father, Eduard. The original Potsdamer Straße perfumery sold perfume by weight alongside artificial flowers. From the outset, the house developed and produced its fragrances in-house, while its self-service “Tropfer” dispensed free drops of the daily fragrance to passersby. The business continued through World War II and Berlin’s division, relocating to Friedrichstraße before moving to West Berlin in the early 1950s. In 1958, Harry Lehmann established the shop at Kantstraße 106 in Charlottenburg. After his death in 1967, Edith and Lutz Lehmann took over, continuing the family’s fragrance development; in the late 1970s and 1980s, they introduced bolder compositions and created Lambada in response to the dance’s popularity in Europe. Lutz Lehmann’s death in 2022 ended the direct family succession after three generations. Berlin entrepreneurs Vianney Lancres and Jannis Lucian Groh took over and reopened the perfumery in March 2024, retaining its original formulas, historic furnishings, and individualized consultation while removing the artificial flowers. The house is especially associated with Violet, one of its historic classics, which Marlene Dietrich regularly purchased there.