Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from English Receipt/Home Remedy Book must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: English Receipt/Home Remedy Book, Ms2013-013, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

This collection was purchased by Special Collections in October 2012.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the English Receipt/Home Remedy Book was completed in February 2013.

Scope and Content

This handwritten book contains recipes and home remedies, with the last few pages devoted to a description of quilting designs and a "list of plate in use" for 1838. The recipes consist largely of meat or fish dishes - including lobster salad - as well as puddings, desserts, and even ginger beer. Home remedies are listed side by side with the food recipes. Many of these recipes and remedies are attributed to various individuals and doctors. A few of the recipes contain dates, spanning from 1834-1840.

One interesting home remedy includes treatment for swallowing a bone: "Swallowing a pin or fish bone...the dose will not keep many minutes upon the stomach--and will bring up the pin or the bone!!!"

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Folk, historical, and patent medicine
• History of Food and Drink
• Traditional medicine