Details

Subjects:

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

Form/Genre:

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

Language:

French.

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.
Pagination: 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.
Layout: Written in 26-38 long lines.
Script: Written in a cursive script by what appears to be a single hand.
Binding: Contemporary parchment.
Origin: Written in France[?] in the second half of the 18th century.

Local notes:

Purchased with support from the B. H. Breslauer Foundation.

Penn 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.

Cited as:

UPenn Ms. Codex 1671.

Contributor:

Rainsford, Charles, 1728-1809, former owner.
Northumberland, Hugh Percy, Duke of, 1742-1817, former owner.
Charles Rainsford Collection of Alchemical and Occult Manuscripts (University of Pennsylvania)

OCLC:

907295346

Web link:

Unique at Penn blog post