In 1825, he successfully continued his studies at the School of Pharmacy of Paris. He then returned to his shop in Saint-Étienne. He invented a gas regulator and a firedamp detector which were not retained by the manufacturers.
In 1849, his experiences swallowed up proceeds from the sale of his pharmacy. Penniless, he returned to Paris. During the French coup of 1851, he was imprisoned a few days with the sculptor David d'Angers, who became his friend.
In 1853, Émile-Justin Menier (Menier Chocolate) moved the family pharmacy in Saint-Denis and placed Paul Jean Rigollot. In 1860, the pharmacist Boggio imagined the mustard plaster in sheets, and Menier launched into rubber production: Paul Jean Rigollot worked and improved the sheets by using a rubber adhesive solution.
He died in 1873 in Paris. He was buried in Asnois, Nièvre, where his bust with the epitaph: “Savant disinterested one aim, to relieve humanity otherwise it was a hundred other celebrities”.
Chocolate has generated much interest among pharmacists, as a tidbit but as an excipient. Paul Jean Rigollot has worked extensively with the firm Menier, was cited in an 1896 book, The Science of Advertising: a huge amount of chocolate that had turned white because of cooling, the sale was compromised. He had the clever idea to print a new ad: “Chocolat Menier, the only one who whitens with age”. The entire production was sold, and had to try to reproduce the phenomenon for the following productions.
