Partly-printed notice announcing a meeting of the trustees of the Loganian Library, accomplished and signed by James Logan, Jr.
Philadelphia]: Printed by Zachariah Poulson, "August 12, 1793." 1 p. (108 x 167 mm). The notice within a border composed from typographic ornaments. On the reverse is a manuscript recipe in an unknown hand for "Elex[i]r Proprietalis": an elixir of myrhh, rhubarb, saffron, snake root and brandy. Condition : very light browning. a meeting of the trustees of the loganian library, held as yellow fever began to spread in the city. James Logan senior (1674-1751) had begun to plan for the future of his library in about 1744. Neither of his sons were particularly interested and "he could not bear to think that the collection … should ever be dispersed. So he decided to give it to the public by creating a trust … his heirs faithfully carried out his intent in an instrument establishing the Loganian Library as a public Trust … No collection of books in colonial America … was better chosen … none was nearly so rich in rare editions of the classics or the great works of scientific tradition" (Tolles, James Logan and the Culture of Provincial America, pp.193-194). This printed notice is a record of one of the earliest meetings of the newly-formed board of Trustees of the Loganian Library after its incorporation into the Library Company of Philadelphia. James Logan Jr. was the last surviving of his father's children, and had been the moving force behind the transfer of the Loganian to the Library Company in 1792. The recipe on the verso for an Elixir Proprietalis is fascinating considering the outbreak of yellow fever in Philadelphia at the very time of this meeting. "The story began quietly in the late summer of 1793. A few cases of an unusually malignant fever appeared near Water Street. The symptoms were severe … On August 19, [Benjamin Rush] was prepared to call this new pestilence by name: the yellow fever" (A Melancholy Scene of Devastation, p. 24). While this elixir was not used to treat the fever, it was used to treat some of its symptoms, most notably jaundice.
Partly-printed notice announcing a meeting of the trustees of the Loganian Library, accomplished and signed by James Logan, Jr.
Philadelphia]: Printed by Zachariah Poulson, "August 12, 1793." 1 p. (108 x 167 mm). The notice within a border composed from typographic ornaments. On the reverse is a manuscript recipe in an unknown hand for "Elex[i]r Proprietalis": an elixir of myrhh, rhubarb, saffron, snake root and brandy. Condition : very light browning. a meeting of the trustees of the loganian library, held as yellow fever began to spread in the city. James Logan senior (1674-1751) had begun to plan for the future of his library in about 1744. Neither of his sons were particularly interested and "he could not bear to think that the collection … should ever be dispersed. So he decided to give it to the public by creating a trust … his heirs faithfully carried out his intent in an instrument establishing the Loganian Library as a public Trust … No collection of books in colonial America … was better chosen … none was nearly so rich in rare editions of the classics or the great works of scientific tradition" (Tolles, James Logan and the Culture of Provincial America, pp.193-194). This printed notice is a record of one of the earliest meetings of the newly-formed board of Trustees of the Loganian Library after its incorporation into the Library Company of Philadelphia. James Logan Jr. was the last surviving of his father's children, and had been the moving force behind the transfer of the Loganian to the Library Company in 1792. The recipe on the verso for an Elixir Proprietalis is fascinating considering the outbreak of yellow fever in Philadelphia at the very time of this meeting. "The story began quietly in the late summer of 1793. A few cases of an unusually malignant fever appeared near Water Street. The symptoms were severe … On August 19, [Benjamin Rush] was prepared to call this new pestilence by name: the yellow fever" (A Melancholy Scene of Devastation, p. 24). While this elixir was not used to treat the fever, it was used to treat some of its symptoms, most notably jaundice.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
