Elizabeth Blackwell, A Curious Herbal, Volume 2
Information
Title - A curious herbal, containing five hundred cuts, of the most useful plants, which are now used in the practice of physick. Engraved on folio copper plates, after drawings, taken from the life. By Elizabeth Blackwell. To which is added a short description of the plants; and their common uses in physick.
Record type - Book
Shelf mark - 615.3 Bla
Scope & content - The dedications, in order of insertion in this copy, are in volume I to Richard Mead (motto: Non sidi sed toti), dated 14 July 1737; Thomas Pellet, dated 14 July 1737; Hans Sloane, dated 2 August 1737; Alexander Stuart (motto: Ut supra floreat), dated 2 August 1737; and Robert Nicholls (motto, Ni coles deum nihil), dated 8 August 1737; in volume II to James Douglas (motto: Arcui meonon confid), dated 7 November 1737; Henry Plumptre (motto: Turpi secernere honestum), dated 7 June 1738; Joseph Miller, dated 1 December 1738; Isaac Rand (motto: Rex animalium civis formicarum), dated 16 August 1737; and the author's uncle John Johnstoune [= Johnstoun] (motto: apropinquat aurora), dated 17 January 1739. Most were officials of either the Society of Apothecaries or the Royal College of Physicians.
Elizabeth Blackwell compiled her Curious herbal at the instigation of Sir Hans Sloane, as a means of raising money to redeem her husband, Alexander Blackwell (1709-1747), from imprisonment for debt. On the advice of Isaac Rand she rented a house opposite the Chelse Physic Garden, and used that as her source of plants. Blackwell appears to have originally negotiated with the printer Samuel Harding, but in 1739 the copyright in the herbal was assigned to the printer John Nourse, and Blackwell brought a suit against Harding et al. for publishing unauthorised copies; see Blanche Henrey II p. 233.
The work appeared in parts at the rate of one per week for 125 weeks; the dedications bear dates of 1737-39. See Henrey II 233-4 for a discussion of dates of publication.
The plates featured in the volume are as follows:
Plate 253. Avens, or Herb Bennet
Plate 254. Bistort, or Snakeweed
Plate 255. Creeping Birthwort
Plate 256. Round Birthwort
Plate 257. Long Birthwort
Plate 258. Wild Clary
Plate 259. Marsh Grow-foot
Plate 260. Water-Cress
Plate 261. Bastard Acorus
Plate 262. Rhapontic
Plate 263. Navelwort
Plate 264. Goats thorn
Plate 265. Staves-Acre
Plate 266. Wild Rocket
Plate 267. Sassafrass
Plate 268. Spatling Poppy
Plate 269. Dragons
Plate 270. Small Blue-Bottle
Plate 271. Wild Valerian
Plate 272. Golden Starwort
Plate 273. Clown's-allheal
Plate 274. Female Pimpernell
Plate 275. Lovage
Plate 276. Sneezewort
Plate 277. Gooseberry
Plate 278. Loosestrife
Plate 279. Master-wort
Plate 280. Wild Marjoram
Plate 281. Apricock
Plate 282. Lupin
Plate 283. Would or Dyer's Weed
Plate 284. Sweet Trefoil
Plate 285. Red Currans
Plate 286. Herb Paris
Plate 287. Purslain
Plate 288. Fennel
Plate 289. Raspberry-Bush
Plate 290. Mint
Plate 291. Pepper-mint
Plate 292. Horse-mint
Plate 293. Hazel-nut
Plate 294. Lavender
Plate 295. Broad leaved Lavender
Plate 296. Hyssop
Plate 297. Eryngo
Plate 298. Camomile
Plate 299. Vipers-Bugloss
Plate 300. Sweet Maudlin
Plate 301. Rest-harrow
Plate 302. Penny-royal
Plate 303. Upright-Penny-royal
Plate 304. Hart's-penny-royal
Plate 305. The Damson Tree
Plates 306. French Sorrel
Plate 307. Sheeps Sorrel
Plate 308. Wood-Sorrel
Plate 309. Vervain-Mallow
Plate 310. Wild Rue
Plate 311. English-Mercury
Plate 312. Sciatica-Cress
Plate 313. Thorn-apple
Plate 314. Oak of Jerusalem
Plate 315. Knot-grass
Plate 316. Long Cyperus
Plate 317. Flower Gentle
Plate 318. Winter Savory
Plate 319. Sweet Marjoram
Plate 320. Rupture Wort
Plate 321. The Roman Nettle
Plate 322. The Female Hemp
Plate 323. Male Fearn
Plate 324. Osmond-royala
Plate 325. Female Fearn, or Brakes
Plate 326. Madder
Plate 327. The Willow
Plate 328. The Ash
Plate 329. Melon
Plate 330. Chesnut
Plate 331. Tamarisk
Plate 332. Spargus
Plate 333. The Succotrine Aloe
Plate 334. Jen's Ears
Plate 335. Tree Lungwort
Plate 336. Ash-colour'd Liverwort
Plate 337. Coffee
Plate 338. The Clove
Plate 339. The true Euphorbium
Plate 340. Euphorbium
Plate 341. Red Coral
Plate 342. true White Coral
Plate 343. White Coral
Plate 344. Black Coral
Plate 345. Acacia
Plate 346. Lavander Cotton
Plate 347. The Camphire Tree
Plate 348. Black Pepper
Plate 349. The Orange-Tree
Plate 350. Lignum Vitae of Jamaica / Lignum Vitae of Brasil
Plate 351. Green Tea
Plate 352. Bohea or Peco Tea
Plate 353. The Nutmeg
Plate 354. The Cinamon Tree
Plate 355. Jamaica Pepper
Plate 356. Sr Hans Sloan's long Pepper / Long Pepper of the Shops
Plate 357. Cotton
Plate 358. The Dragon-Tree
Plate 359. Cyclamen-leaved Asarum
Plate 360. The Scythian Lamb
Plate 361. The Citron-Tree
Plate 362. The Lemon-Tree
Plate 363. The Oily-Palm Tree
Plate 364. The Mandrake
Plate 365. Mouse-Ear
Plate 366. House-Leek
Plate 367. The true Maiden-Hair
Plate 368. Purging Flax
Plate 369. West India Anacardium
Plate 370. English Maiden-Hair
Plate 371. The true Amomum
Plate 372. Sauce alone
Plate 373. The Coco-Nut Tree
Plate 374. Anise
Plate 375. Golden Maiden-Hair
Plate 376. Spotted Lungwort
Plate 377. Acacia
Plate 378. Endive
Plate 379. Parsnep
Plate 380. Ducks-Meat
Plate 381. Cassia fistula
Plate 382. Macedonian Parsley
Plate 383. Asarabacca
Plate 384. Fenugreek
Plate 385. The greater & lesser Cardamoms & Grains of Paradyce
Plate 386. The BenNut or oily Acorn
Plate 387. Indian Nut
Plate 388. Indian Apples
Plate 389. The India Berry Tree
Plate 390. Pellitory of Spain
Plate 391. Malabar or Java Cinamon
Plate 392. The Gambooge Tree
Plate 393. Sarsaparilla of America
Plate 394. Bitter and Sweet Costus
Plate 395. The Nux vomica of the Shops
Plate 396. Turmerick
Plate 397. Turbith
Plate 398. The Sebesten Plumb
Plate 399. Zedoary
Plate 400. The Emblick Myrobalan
Plate 401. Myrobalans
Plate 402. Zerumbet
Plate 403. Snakewood
Plate 404. Jallap
Plate 405. Female Satyrium
Plate 406. Scorzonera or Vipers-grass
Plate 407. Mithridate-Mustard
Plate 408. Alexanders
Plate 409. Columbine
Plate 410. Sweet-Naven
Plate 411. Hedge-Hysop
Plate 412. Fleawort
Plate 413. Burnet
Plate 414. Orris
Plate 415. Horse-radish
Plate 416. Adders-tongue
Plate 417. Caper
Plate 418. Mother of Thyme
Plate 419. Savory
Plate 420. Moonwort
Plate 421. The Leek
Plate 422. Oats
Plate 423. Barley
Plate 424. Rye
Plate 425. The Black Cherry
Plate 426. Siler Mountain
Plate 427. Eye-bright
Plate 428. The lesser House-leek
Plate 429. The Vetch
Plate 430. Toothwort
Plate 431. Mugwort
Plate 432. Rosa-solis
Plate 433. China Root
Plate 434. Hercules's Allheal
Plate 435. Ladies Bedstraw
Plate 436. Gromill
Plate 437. The smaller Tobacco
Plate 438. Goldy-Locks
Plate 439. Ox-Eye
Plate 440. Flixweed
Plate 441. Coloquintida
Plate 443. Smallage
Plate 444. The Lesser Burdock
Plate 445. Tormentil
Plate 446. Mustard
Plate 447. Bishop's Weed
Plate 448. Dittander or Pepperwort
Plate 449. Red Cherry
Plate 450. Hares-foot
Plate 451. Hemlock
Plate 452. Lesser Centory
Plate 453. The Pear-tree
Plate 454. Cinquefoil
Plate 455. Nep or Catmint
Plate 456. Poley-mountain
Plate 457. Black Briony
Plate 458. Artichoke
Plate 459. Deadly-carrot
Plate 460. Buck's-horn-Plantain
Plate 461. Pistachio
Plate 462. Dittany of Creet
Plate 463. Bill-Berry
Plate 464. Tansie
Plate 465. Meadow-sweet
Plate 466. The True Acorus
Plate 467. Dropwort
Plate 468. Distaff-Thistle
Plate 469. The Lime-tree
Plate 470. Black Masterwort
Plate 471. Daucus of Creet
Plate 472. Burnet-saxifrage
Plate 473. Elecampane
Plate 474. Bog-bean
Plate 475. Scordium or Water-Germander
Plate 476. Cardus or the Blessed Thistle
Plate 477. The Larch-Tree
Plate 478. The Turpentine Tree
Plate 479. White Horehound
Plate 480. Herb Robert
Plate 481. Sea Lavendar
Plate 482. Black Poppy
Plate 483. White Poppy
Plate 484. Lesser Valerian
Plate 485. Liquid Amber
Plate 486. Sumach
Plate 487. The Oak
Plate 488. Dwarf-Elder
Plate 489. Patience
Plate 490. The great Water Dock
Plate 491. Sharp-pointed Dock
Plate 492. Bloodwort
Plate 493. Logwood
Plate 494. The Sloe-tree
Plate 495. Liquorice
Plate 496. Angelica
Plate 497. The yellow Water Lilly
Plate 498. The White Water-Lilly
Plate 499. Water-Lilly Roots
Plate 500. Bugloss
Language - English
Copyright - No known copyright restrictions
Credit Line - RHS Lindley Collections
Usage terms - Public Domain