Collection ID: 0002 | Metadata type: TEI | TEI XML | Data

Title

Iatro-chemical and alchemical compendium

Call number

Ms. Codex 123
(Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, Rare Book & Manuscript Library)

Alternate identifiers

• bibid: 1580539
• http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/d/medren/1580539

Publisher

The University of Pennsylvania Libraries

Language

French, with a few sections in Latin

Origin

Date

between 1600 and 1650?

Place

France

Summary

Chemical and alchemical miscellany describing a great variety of preparations, recipes and operations, remedies for various ailments and diseases, etc. Concerned, e.g., with "mercure d'antimoine," remedies against cancer, the plague, diseases of the eye, venereal diseases, etc., "aqua philosophorum," "clavis artis" (dated 1579, cf. p. 375), calcination, amalgamation, etc. Many sources of information are indicated, among them a Henry vom Stram (p. 30); Wasseron (p. 32 and passim); Rudellius Scurbergenesis (i.e. Rüdel?, p. 139); Raymundus Lullus (i.e., Ramón Llull, p. 193); Hollerus (i.e. Blaise H. Holler?, p. 246); Camillus a Camillis (i.e. Hannibal C. Camillus?, p. 291); Casanone (p. 416). Most of the sources cannot be identified in standard reference works.

Notes

• Ms. codex.
   
• Title supplied by cataloger (Zacour-Hirsch).
   
• Heading and incipit of first section (p. 1): Observations tres belles et diverses experiences. Pour l'eau de vie. Recipe une draginee d'or ...
   
• Forms part of: Edgar F. Smith Memorial Collection.
   

Watermark

Contains the initials GB; also countermark.

Extent

238 leaves : 313 x 212 (227 x 140) mm. bound to 320 mm. +

Collation

i (modern paper) + 237 + i (modern paper); 1-4⁸ 5⁶ 6-12⁸ 13⁶ 14-17⁸ 18⁶ 19-29⁸ 30⁸(+1) 31²(2 singletons); 1-470, 531-532, [547]-548; contemporary pagination in ink, upper outer corners. The last 2 leaves seem to have been added from some other manuscript. Catchwords in lower right corner, last verso of each gathering.

Support

Paper

Binding

17th-century French[?] quarter vellum (blue paper over cardboard, with vellum spine; the vellum is from a slightly earlier manuscript). Some pages stained and split at the edges. First and last leaves slightly torn at the edges.

Decoration

Ink diagrams and drawings of distillation vessels, etc., throughout.

Script

Written in a cursive script by one hand, with a second hand beginning on p. 531 and continuing to the end.

Provenance

• Accompanied by an unidentified French dealer's description (on file in the Library).
   
• Acquired, 1963.
   

Subjects topical

• Alchemy--Early works to 1800
• Aquavit
• Chemical apparatus
• Chemistry--History
• Distillation--Early works to 1800
• Distillation apparatus
• Liquors
• Medicine--Formulae, receipts, prescriptions--Early works to 1800

Genres

• Codices
• Diagrams
• Recipes
• Manuscripts, French--17th century
• Manuscripts, European

Licenses

• Text

  This description is ©2015 University of Pennsylvania Libraries. It is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License version 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. For a description of the terms of use see the Creative Commons Deed https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

  URL

  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

• Text

  All referenced images and their content are free of known copyright restrictions and in the public domain. See the Creative Commons Public Domain Mark page for usage details, http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/.

  URL

  http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

Decorations

• 14 — Diagram, p. 14
• 19 — Diagram, p. 19
• 21 — Diagram, p. 21
• 35 — Diagram, p. 35
• 55 — Diagram, p. 55
• 64 — Diagram, p. 64
• 82 — Drawing, p. 82
• 83 — Diagram, p. 83
• 104 — Diagram, p. 104
• 112 — Diagram, p. 112
• 118 — Diagram, p. 118
• 247 — Table, p. 247
• 248 — Diagram, p. 248
• 454 — Diagram, p. 454
• 468 — Drawing, Face, p. 468