Call Number:

Ms. Codex 2236

Repository:

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

Extent:

1 volume(s)

Language:

English

Date:

1847

Creator:

Hunt, James Lewis, 1807-1884

Form:

Codices (bound manuscripts)

Abstract:

This volume contains 73 pharmaceutical recipes and was created in James Lewis Hunt in Hingham, Massachusetts in 1847. Hunt (1807-1884) was a druggist from South Street, Hingham, Massachusetts.

A note from the Old Fort House Archives written on the front pastedown in 1968 states that this volume was created by James Lewis Hunt, a druggist from Hingham, Massachusetts.

Hunt was born on February 25, 1807, in Braintree, Massachusetts to Caleb Hunt and Nancy Holbrook. He married Susan Lincoln Thaxter (1816-1890) in 1854 and together they had at least two children, George Edward Hunt (1855-) and Anna Holbrook Hunt (1857-). He died in Hingham on June 22, 1884.

This volume contains recipes for numerous named or patented medicines, including Cox's Hive Syrup, Dover's Powder, Stoughton's Bitters, and Turlington's Balsam of Life.

Cox's Hive Syrup was a popular brand of hive syrup, a remedy for croup that was often manufactured with "large doses of opium, cocaine, or alcohol." (Czerkowicz) Surviving recipes for Cox's hive syrup included Tartar emetic which was poisonous and could cause profuse vomiting, hepatitis, and death.

Dover's powder was developed by Thomas Dover in England in 1732 and was used to treat gout, general pains, insomnia, and diarrhea. It remained in use until the 1930s when its inclusion of opium made it fall out of favor.

Robert Turlington obtained a patent for Turlington's Balsam of Life in 1743 or 1744. The balsam was used to treat a variety of ailments, including kidney and bladder stones, colic, and inward weakness.

There are also two recipes for emmenagogue pills. Emmenagogue refers to a category of herbs that stimulate menstruation and are also used to terminate pregnancy or induce abortion. The recipes in this volume contain aloes and sabin or savin, both of which are known to be emmenagogues.

Sources:

Czerkowicz, Camille. "Lost Cures: Jacques & Marsh, Druggists." MCNY Blog: New York Stories, 21 June 2016, blog.mcny.org/2016/06/07/lost-cures-jacques-marsh-druggists/.

"Emmenagogue." Herbal Reality, www.herbalreality.com/western-action/emmenagogue/#:~:text=Emmenagogues%20are%20herbs%20that%20stimulate,Turmeric%20root%20(Curcuma%20longa). Accessed 1 Nov. 2024.

Jones, Olive, and Allen Vegotsky. "Turlington's Balsam of Life." The Open Repository @ Binghamton (The ORB), orb.binghamton.edu/neha/vol45/iss1/1/. Accessed 1 Nov. 2024.

La Grippe Bottle, DEA Museum, web.archive.org/web/20240605164824/https://museum.dea.gov/museum-collection/collection-spotlight/artifact/la-grippe-bottle. Accessed 1 Nov. 2024.

"Sabina (U. S. p.)-Savine." Sabina (U. S. P.)-Savine., Henriette's Herbal Homepage, www.henriettes-herb.com/eclectic/kings/juniperus-sabi.html. Accessed 1 Nov. 2024.

Salehi, Bahare, et al. "Aloe Genus Plants: From Farm to Food Applications and Phytopharmacotherapy." International Journal of Molecular Sciences, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 19 Sept. 2018, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6163315/.

This volume contains 73 pharmaceutical recipes mostly written in pharmaceutical notation by James Lewis Hunt in Hingham, Massachusetts in 1847.

It is bound in quarter leather with paper cover boards. There is damage to the binding and the initials "JLH" are stamped on the front cover. There are also several blank pages (p. 32-78).

Examples of recipes include Hooper's cough drops (p. 6), Cox's hive syrup (p. 7), Dover's powder (p. 8), Stoughton's bitters (p. 8), Spearing's liniment (p. 10), Turlington's balsam of life (p. 11), Hardy's bitters (p. 11), emmenagogue pill (p. 18, 23), dysentery cordial (p. 21), cholera (p. 25), and dose for a child (p. 26).

This volume also includes a list of the medicines the creator had in stock, titled "Medison Chest Stock" (P. 82-83). There are two pages laid in at the back cover that contain definitions for different types of medicines, such as narcotics, astringents, and antacids.