Stimulating Reading

Most pamphlets published in the 17th century had the coffee-house crowd in mind as the audience. Coffee houses served as a kind of gentleman's forum for debate, and they would buy the latest tracts and have them available for their customers. These were the fodder for the political and social discourse that thrived in the coffee-houses. That is why we were excited to find this little gem. It is not an earth shaking polemic like one of Paine's tracts, but an almost self-referential pamphlet: The Natural History of Coffee, Chocolate, Thee, Tobacco (London, 1682). Added on is a tract on elder and juniper berries and another on making "Mum," an alcoholic drink made from wheat malt, oat malt and beans!

The favorite stimulants that get the lead billing were all still a little exotic in England. They were products of the New World or far off eastern lands. Their medicinal qualities are emphasized, surely making the gentlemen in the coffee houses feel enlivened by their good sense as they read, talked, and sipped.

Sorry, you can't bring your coffee or "thee" into Rauner, but you can enjoy reading about them by asking for Rare TP638.C53 1682.

Sealing Wax and other Fancy Stuff

We just bought a cool medical recipe book that was kept by Thomas Chadbourne, an early graduate of the Dartmouth Medical School (now the Geisel School of Medicine) who later set up practice in Concord. The notebook is from his days in Hanover and he attributed several of his recipes to Nathan Smith, founder of the Dartmouth Medical School.

While this is nice documentation of the early days of medical training at Dartmouth, it also says something about how doctors saved and organized information. Medical recipes were handed down from mentor to student, and kept for further reference. But the same recipe book that contains medicinal mixtures for "bone ointment," "whooping cough," and "cholera morbus" also has recipes for varnish and for sealing wax. In fact, the sealing wax recipe is right next to a note about the correct dosage of opium for asthma and other lung ailments. I guess that would be the "other fancy stuff."

This just arrived so it isn't cataloged yet, but it will be soon.