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

Title

Collection of alchemical works on distillation and fermentation.

Authors

• Charles Rainsford Collection of Alchemical and Occult Manuscripts (University of Pennsylvania)

Other related names

• Rainsford, Charles, 1728-1809, former owner
• Northumberland, Hugh Percy, Duke of, 1742-1817, former owner (http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr93028960)

Call number

Oversize Ms. Codex 1671
(3420 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6206, University of Pennsylvania, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts)

Alternate identifiers

• bibid: 9962935303503681
• http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/907295345
• https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p3fb4wn46 https://repository.upenn.edu/uniqueatpenn/23/

Publisher

University of Pennsylvania

Language

French

Origin

Date

between 1750 and 1799

Place

France?

Summary

Collection of works on distillation, fermentation, and other chemistry-related procedures divided into sections according to vegetable (p. 1), animal (p. 141), or mineral (p. 163). The first section includes general discussion of chemistry and the history of fermentation (p. 77) with a portion devoted to beer (p. 81) as well as practical instructions for making tinctures and spirits of different plant substances such as dragon's blood (p. 119) and rosemary (p. 23) and the preparation of cocoa butter (p. 37). The second section includes subjects such as coagulation (p. 142), the distillation of egg whites (p. 144) and deer horn (p. 152), and the properties of milk (p. 143). The third section encompasses discussion of substances such as sea salt, antimony, gold, silver, mercury, arsenic, and amber. Also includes a detailed list of contents at the beginning (p. i).

Notes

• Ms. codex.
   
• Title supplied by cataloger.
   

Extent

157 leaves : 311 x 207 (299 x 162) mm bound to 321 x 221 mm

Foliation

Paper, iv (contemporary paper) + 157 + i (contemporary paper); [vi], 1-61, [iii], 62-140, [i], 141-162, [ii], 163-185, 187-303; contemporary pagination in ink, modern pagination in pencil, upper outer corners.

Support

Paper

Binding

Contemporary parchment.

Layout

Written in 26-38 long lines.

Script

Written in a cursive script by what appears to be a single hand.

Provenance

• Formerly owned by Charles Rainsford (British army officer, fellow of the Royal Society, and alchemist); bequeathed by Rainsford to Hugh Percy, Second Duke of Northumberland.
   
• Owned by the 2nd through 12th Dukes of Northumberland, ms. 582, Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, 1809-2014 (bookplate, inside upper cover; stamps throughout).
   
• Sold at auction at Sotheby's (London), 15 July 2014, as part of Lot 411.
   

Subjects topical

• Alchemy
• Alchemy--Early works to 1800
• Chemistry--Early works to 1800
• Distillation
• Distillation--Early works to 1800
• Chemistry

Genres

• Codices
• Manuals (instructional materials)
• Manuscripts, European
• Manuscripts, French

Keywords

• 18th century
• French
• France
• Paper
• Alchemy
• Science

Licenses

• Text

  These images and the content of Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts Oversize Ms. Codex 1671: Collection of alchemical works on distillation and fermentation. 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/

• Text

  Metadata is ©2017 University of Pennsylvania Books & Manuscripts and 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

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