Call Number:

Ms. Codex 2193

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

1 volume

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

George Speechly pharmaceutical recipe book, 1850-1878, Ms. Codex 2193, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1850-1878 (inclusive)

Creator:

Speechly, George, 1833-1928

Form:

Codices (bound manuscripts)

Abstract:

This volume contains about 300 pharmaceutical recipes written and compiled between 1850 and 1878 by English chemist, George Speechly (1833-1928), with 180 of the recipes organized into an index at the beginning of the volume.

George Speechly was born in July 1833 to Mary Ann (née Beaver) Speechly (1807-1838) and George Speechly (1803-1877) in Peterborough, Northampton, England. The eldest of four children, Speechly began an apprenticeship for his pharmacy credentials as a youth in Peterborough and moved to Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire by his late 20s in 1861. Speechly married Amelia Fowler (1843-1924) in Thorley in 1862 and the couple settled in Bishop's Stortford where they produced eight children between 1864 and 1888.

Speechly hired an apprentice, Sidney Milbank, in 1883 to work in his chemist shop on North Street in Bishop's Stortford. After earning his professional credentials, Sidney returned to Bishop's Stortford to become Speechly's assistant and business partner. After changing the shop's name to Speechly & Milbank, Speechly retired in 1892 and left the business to Sidney. George Speechly died on January 29, 1928, in Bishop's Stortford.

Sources:

Ancestry.com. England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.

Ancestry.com. England & Wales Marriages, 1538-1988 [database on-line]. Place: Thorley, Hertfordshire, England; Date Range: 1862 – 1863; Film Number: 1040867. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2008.

Ancestry.com. England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1871 England Census; Class: RG10; Piece: 1355; Folio: 51; Page: 4; GSU roll: 828293

The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO); Kew, Surrey, England; 1851 England and Wales Census; Class: HO107 ; Piece: 1747 ; Folio: 306 ; Page: 11 ; GSU roll: 87702-87703

The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO); Kew, Surrey, England; 1861 England and Wales Census ; Class: Rg 9 ; Piece: 964 ; Folio: 113 ; Page: 9 ; GSU roll: 542728

"Guide 6: North Street – East Side." Bishop's Stortford & Thorley - A History & Guide, Paul Ailey, 2004, http://stortfordhistory.co.uk/guide6/north-street-east-side/.

"Marriages." The Essex County Standard [Colchester], 10 Sept 1862, p. 3

This volume contains 300 pharmaceutical recipes written and compiled between 1850 and 1878 by English chemist, George Speechly (1833-1928), with 180 of the recipes organized into an index at the beginning of the volume (p. i-xxii). There are many blank pages (p. xxiii-xxvi, 138-143).

Speechly included printed recipes from published periodicals (p. 85, 94, 126-129, 136, inside back cover) throughout the book. There is a printed illustration and directions for using a "Seltzogene" (p. 112-113) and a list containing names of other chemist shops inside of the front cover.

Examples of pharmaceutical recipes for common ailments include succedaneum for tooth stoppage [filling] (p. 13), an ointment for deafness (p. 19), opium for toothaches (p. 26), and mixtures for the treatment of hemorrhoids (p. 30).

For more serious conditions, there are recipes to treat whooping cough (p. 31), gangrene (p. 44), diarrhea (p. 97), cholera (p. 107), syphilitic sore throat (p. 146), and "venereal eruptions" (p. 147). Speechly also noted recipes for domesticated animals, such as a treatment for "milk fever" in cows (p. 35).

Examples of recipes that contain instructions for creating dyes, flavored extracts, perfume, and adhesives include Armenian cement (p. 1), liquid rouge (p. 20), Hungary water (p. 21), red dye from ground cochineal beetles (p. 23), dipping liniment for sheep (p. 40), and flavored extracts (p. 74-75).