Folio 2. Page 34. Verso
Dublin Core
Title
Folio 2. Page 34. Verso
Subject
Medicine using Mercury, and to cure Itch and treat tender eyes.
Description
Itch
Rub the parts affected with an oint-
-ment made of 2 oz flowers of Brimstone,
crude sal ammoniac finely
powde’d, 2 drams - hogs lard or butter
2 oz & a half a dram of essence
of lemon- about the bulk of a nutmeg
may be rubbe’d on the estremities
at bedtime twice or thrice a week-
before using the ointment the patient
if of a full habit should bleed or take
a purge or two- & during the use
of it take of it every nights & morning
so much cream of Tarter & flour of
Brimstone as will keep the body open-
Tender Eyes
Complaints of the eye may be relieved
by a Spruce or burgundy pitch
plaster between the shoulders
Mercurial purging pill
Purified Quicksilver & Honey each
half an ounce- rub together in a mortar
till the globules are estinguishe’d- add
Castile Soap 2 drams-make into the
Rub the parts affected with an oint-
-ment made of 2 oz flowers of Brimstone,
crude sal ammoniac finely
powde’d, 2 drams - hogs lard or butter
2 oz & a half a dram of essence
of lemon- about the bulk of a nutmeg
may be rubbe’d on the estremities
at bedtime twice or thrice a week-
before using the ointment the patient
if of a full habit should bleed or take
a purge or two- & during the use
of it take of it every nights & morning
so much cream of Tarter & flour of
Brimstone as will keep the body open-
Tender Eyes
Complaints of the eye may be relieved
by a Spruce or burgundy pitch
plaster between the shoulders
Mercurial purging pill
Purified Quicksilver & Honey each
half an ounce- rub together in a mortar
till the globules are estinguishe’d- add
Castile Soap 2 drams-make into the
Continued on Folio 2. Page 33. Recto.
Raised (superscript) letters are lowered, contractions are expanded, and added letters italicised retaining the apostrophe.
Raised (superscript) letters are lowered, contractions are expanded, and added letters italicised retaining the apostrophe.
Creator
Charlotte Starkie
Publisher
Gillespie Family
Date
1782 to 1808
Rights
Site licence
Format
Handwritten text on a page of a paper document
Language
English
Type
Paper document
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
This is the first instance of a reference in the folio of the popular practice of blood letting. By the time of the Renaissance, blood-letters (often barbers in Europe), had the practice down to a science of sorts. Zodiac charts determined the best times of year for letting blood from different parts of the body.
Medical tomes distinguished between diverting blood flow (bleeding the right arm to staunch a bloody left nostril, for example) and encouraging it (bleeding the foot to draw menstrual blood down). The barbers used lancets and fleams -- small double-edged blades that came with pocket-sized, often tortoiseshell carrying cases.
When George Washington died after falling ill with laryngitis his physicians bled him heavily, one after the other. The president gave up more than two litres of blood during the procedures and died a day later. Historians dispute whether it was the loss of blood or other complications that actually killed him.
A Burgundy Pitch Plaister is made from a yellowish brown or reddish brown hard viscous resin obtained as an exudation from the Norway spruce and used formerly in medicinal plasters .
This mercurial medicine is quite frightening, even if the metal mercury is less toxic. It is made to disperse the stuff as finely as possible for best absorption. Mercury chloride, also known as calomel or mercurous chloride, has been used in traditional medicine as a diuretic, topical disinfectant, and laxative.
It has other names as mercuric chloride or corrosive sublimate and was also used to treat syphilis (along with other mercury compounds), although it is so toxic that sometimes the symptoms of its toxicity were confused with those of the syphilis it was believed to treat. It is also used as a disinfectant.
Blue mass, a pill or syrup in which mercury is the main ingredient, was prescribed throughout the 19th century for numerous conditions including constipation, depression, child-bearing and toothaches.
In the early 20th century, mercury was administered to children yearly as a laxative and de wormer, and it was used in teething powders for infants.
The poisoning is unpleasant. The psychological symptoms associated with mercury poisoning inspired the phrase "mad as a hatter". Toxic effects include damage to the brain, kidneys and lungs. Symptoms typically include sensory impairment (vision, hearing, speech), disturbed sensation and a lack of coordination.
Original Format
Paper document
Files
Citation
Charlotte Starkie, “Folio 2. Page 34. Verso,” The Huntroyd Receipts, accessed October 21, 2026, https://huntroyd.co.uk/items/show/80.
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