Chemical observations.

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

Subjects (All):

Alchemy--Early works to 1800.

Alchemy.

Occultism--Early works to 1800.

Occultism.

Genre:

codices (bound manuscripts)

notebooks

Manuscripts, English.

Manuscripts, European.

Penn Provenance:

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

Owned by the 2nd through 12th Dukes of Northumberland, ms. 622, Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, 1809-2014n (bookplate, inside upper cover; stamps throughout).

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

Physical Description:

123 leaves : paper ; 159 x 98 mm bound to 160 x 105 mm

Place of Publication:

[England?], [between 1750 and 1799]

Summary:

Working notebook of alchemical notes, recipes, and processes by Charles Rainsford.

Notes:

Ms. codex.

Title from inscription on upper cover.

Foliation: Paper, 123 leaves; 2-124; contemporary foliation in ink, upper left verso. The recto of the first leaf is numbered 1 and the verso is numbered 2, with the foliation following consistently from that point to the end.

Script: Written in a cursive script in the hand of Charles Rainsford, with notes in what appears to be a second hand.

Binding: Contemporary leather with metal clasp.

Origin: Written in England in the second half of the 18th century.

Local Notes:

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

Cited as:

UPenn Ms. Codex 1705.

OCLC:

919161424

Online:

Unique at Penn blog post