Manuscript pharmaceutical recipe book belonging to Martin Marshal of Bourn in Cambridgeshire

Scope and Content

Manuscript in ink. Quarto; 340 pages; 145 pages of pharmaceutical recipes; 4 pages on poisons to rear and 22 pages of household recipes. Contemporary vellum binding, darkened and rubbed with age. Contains formulae for pharmaceutical recipes for a variety of pills and powders for conditions including constipation, bowel problems, stomach upsets, ear, nose and throat problems, with a tabulated index to front. Recipes in Latin. Each pages contains 2 recipes with measures in shorthand. In reverse from rear of volume is a list of poisons within the meaning of the act (5pp.) Following are household recipes for e.g. Cowslip wine, Furniture Paste, Varnish for Harness, Fish Sauce and ketchups. First front end-paper has pasted-in recipe.

Access Information

Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).

Acquisition Information

Purchased from Pickering & Chatto: Bulletin 53, item 32, January 2017.

Other Finding Aids

A catalogue of the collection can be found on ArchiveSearch.

Geographical Names