Chemical characters from several authors.

Format:

Book

Manuscript

Contributor:

Rainsford, Charles, 1728-1809, former owner.

Northumberland, Hugh Percy, Duke of, 1742-1817, former owner.

Charles Rainsford Collection of Alchemical and Occult Manuscripts (University of Pennsylvania)

Language:

English

Greek, Modern (1453-)

Latin

Subjects (All):

Alchemy--Early works to 1800.

Alchemy.

Chemistry--Early works to 1800.

Chemistry.

Occultism--Early works to 1800.

Occultism.

Genre:

codices (bound manuscripts)

lists (document genres)

Manuscripts, European.

Penn Provenance:

Formerly owned by Charles Rainsford (British army officer, fellow of the Royal Society, and alchemist; bookplate, inside upper cover); bequeathed by Rainsford to Hugh Percy, Second Duke of Northumberland.

Owned by the 2nd through 12th Dukes of Northumberland, ms. 573B, Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, 1809-2014 (initials, p. i).

Sold at auction at Sotheby's (London), 15 July 2014, as part of Lot 411.

Physical Description:

125 leaves : paper ; 185 x 123 mm bound to 189 x 125 mm

Place of Publication:

[England], [1769-1809]

Language Note:

English, with definitions and terms in Latin and a single word in Greek.

Summary:

Copies of lists of chemical nomenclature and symbols including an unidentified text in Latin and followed by lists attributed to the alleged 15th-century alchemist Basilius Valentinus and the 18th-century chemist Hieronymus von Ludolf. Later additions to the manuscript include Antoine Lavoisier's definitive work on the standardization of chemical nomenclature in which he introduces the concept of elements and compounds (1787) and Jean-Henri Hassenfratz and Pierre-Auguste Adet's subsequent publication of standardized symbols corresponding to Lavoisier's new nomenclature (1799). Includes an alphabetical index for p. 1-52 (index, p. 22-34).

Contents:

1. p.1-13: [Unidentified Latin list]

2. p.14-16: Mineral substances

3. p.17-21: Characters / from Basil Valentine

4. p.22-34: Alphabet of the characters

5. p.36-52: Chemical signs / from Ludolf

6. p.53-60: A synopsis of the chemical characters adapted to the new nomenclature

7. p.61-70: The substance of two memoirs on the characters to be used in chemistry.

Notes:

Ms. codex.

Title from title page (p. i).

Pagination: Paper, 125 leaves; [ii], 1-11, 11-52, [53-247]; contemporary pagination in ink, modern pagination in pencil, upper outer corners. Pages 71-247 blank. Folio following title page has been cut out resulting in a loss of text.

Script: Written in a cursive script by what appears to be multiple hands.

Decoration: Pen and ink drawings of chemical and chemistry-related symbols used throughout; extensive use of red ink.

Binding: Contemporary quarter leather.

Origin: Written in England between 1769 (p. i) and 1809.

Local Notes:

Purchased with support from the B. H. Breslauer Foundation.

Cited as:

UPenn Ms. Codex 1662.

Contains:

Adet, Pierre-Auguste, 1763-1832.

Basilius Valentinus.

Berthollet, Claude-Louis, 1748-1822.

Fourcroy, Antoine-François de, comte, 1755-1809.

Hassenfratz, J. H. (Jean-Henri), 1755-1827.

Jackson, William.

Lavoisier, Antoine Laurent, 1743-1794.

Lettsom, John Coakley, 1744-1815.

Ludolf, Hieronymus von, 1708-1764.

OCLC:

898044187

Online:

Unique at Penn blog post