Belfast poison register : manuscript.

Format:

Book

Manuscript

Contributor:

Edgar Fahs Smith Memorial Fund.

Language:

English

Genre:

codices (bound manuscripts)

registers (lists)

Manuscripts, English -- 19th century.

Manuscripts, English -- 20th century.

Penn Provenance:

Sold by Alastor Rare Books (East Cowes, England), 2022.

Physical Description:

1 volume (102 pages) ; 16 x 20 cm

Production:

Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1898-1936.

Summary:

This volume records the purchase of poisonous substances at an unidentified pharmacy in Belfast, Ireland between 1898 and 1936, as required by the Sale of Poisons (Ireland) Act of 1870. The beginning of the volume contains printed versions of the full text of the act (p. 2) and a schedule of poisons registered (p. 2-4). It has seven columns, including ones to record the date, name and address of purchaser, name of poison sold, quantity of poison sold, purpose for which it is stated to be required, signature of purchaser, and signature of introducer, who appear to have been pharmacists or workers at the pharmacy. The volume itself was printed by James F. Wilkinson of The Gutenberg Printing Works in Pendleton, Manchester, England for the expressed purpose of serving as a sale of poisons register.Purchasers’ addresses indicate that this volume likely came from northern Belfast, Ireland. Common poisons sold include vermin destroyer, tartar emetic, arsenic, strychnine, corrosive solvent, SV meth, and meth spirits. Common uses listed include destroying various pests and animals, horses [possibly veterinary medicine], ointments, skin diseases, medical uses, mixing paint, silver polish, and rubbing. The vast majority of the latter entries in this volume record the sales of SV meth and meth spirits (p. 46-92) and meth spirits is the only recorded poison sold for a large portion of those entries (p. 52-92). Examples of entries include 1906 and 1908, Nurse Lizzie McCann, 96 Butler Street, extract of ergot, midwifery (p. 18, 24); 1909, Alex Esler, 69 Albert Bridge Road, yellow prysials of potash, tempering steel (p. 26); and 1923, Mr. William Morrison, 24 O’Hara Street, meth spirit, for spirit lamp (p. 44).

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Edgar Fahs Smith Memorial Fund.

Cited as:

Belfast Poison Register (Ms. Codex 2248). Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania.

OCLC:

1498262648