Receuil de médecine

A collection of medical and other receipts compiled by an anonymous French physician c. 1695: with copious marginal notes and additions by a later medical owner, c. 1750. On p. 868 is a rough pen-drawing of a still. This MS. contains a remarkable collection of notes on medical practice and receipts for remedies, veterinary receipts, etc. There are long sections on alchemical and chemical subjects, artificial gems, fireworks and various 'secrets'. The original compilation can be approximately dated c. 1695, by the date 1696 on p. 1119, which occurs in a story 'D'une grossesse d'homme', stated to have happened to an Abbé at 'Cisteron' [i.e. Sisteron (Basses Alpes)]: this is found in a section headed: 'Colloque sur la génération'. On p. 546 there is a reference to the importation from China of the fruit 'Letchy [Litchi] in 1700, in a note which has clearly been added after the completion of the main text. The second compiler seems to have written about 1750, and has added many receipts and notes. At the end of the volume lists of materia medica, etc. (pp. 1105-1111), 'Poids et mésures', 'Caracteres chymiques', the two last are written on the last 5 unpaginated leaves.

c. 1695-c. 1750

1 volume pp. 3-1126 + 10 bl. ll. + 5 ll. folio. 291/2 × 171/2 cm. Original calf binding repaired. Pp.1/2, 21-30, 105/106, 205-212, 279-284, 309/310, 471-478, 713/714, 1017-1020, 1077/1078 wanting: 8 ll. cut out after p. 1026. Pp. 1001-1084 are blank.

Purchased 1936.

Database description transcribed from S.A.J. Moorat, Catalogue of Western Manuscripts on Medicine and Science in the Wellcome Historical Medical Library (London: Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, 1962-1973).