Noerey, Celius

Collection of alchemical, medical and other receipts, mainly in French, a few in Latin. Written mainly by Noerey who was probably the Compiler of the collection. Other similar receipts are by various hands of the 17th and first half of the 18th cent. On pp. 212, 736 and 877 there are very roughly executed alchemical symbolic pen-drawings, and on p. 435 similar drawings of alchemical apparatus. The first fly-leaf is pasted down on to the inside of the upper cover. The receipts are written on paper of various sizes and formats, and many seem to have been extracted from other MSS. collections. The larger part of the collection is dated between 1725 and 1749 (p. 289), but there are items written in the second half of the 17th cent., the earliest dated 1659 (p. 233). The name 'Norelcius', which is apparently a form of anagram of the compiler's name, appears on pp. 34, 109 (G. Norelcius), 560, 953 and 967-Gaspard Norelcius. His name seems to have been Celius Noerey, and his son, an officer in the French Army, leased the house called 'Les Charmettes' to Louise Françoise Eléonor de Warens de la Tour [1699-1762] who lived there from about 1730 to 1740. Here she was joined by Jean Jacques Rousseau [1712-1778] who called her 'Maman' though she was also his mistress, at least for part of the time. On p. 289, there is a receipt written by her on two 4to. leaves headed: 'Composition de mon entidotte sepécifique pour preserver les bestiaux de maladies et de les guérir de celle dont il pouroit être affigés. Coppiés le 6 avril 1745 sur mon livres de reseptes differens. De Warens De la Tour à Chambéry pour l'envoier à Paris à mon fillieul Rousseau qui le fera aprouver de la facultés cil le faud pour obtenir le privillège de le faire vendre en toutes la France et 'obtenir l'aprobation de Mr. Helvétius qui a fait un livres sur les maladies des bestiaux'. On the inside of the upper cover, continued on the first fly-leaf, are notes signed 'Moulines'. That on the fly-leaf is written in pencil and is somewhat faded. In these notes there is an account of the provenance of this MS. which belonged to Eugène Javary, 'mort vers 1865' à Paris'. He was of Egyptian Arab origin, and is described as 'chimiste, alchimiste, astronome, astrologue, magicien, St. Simonien, 'spiritutien', l'historien, et chercheur en sciences occultes, inventeur de métaux rouges et blancs, homme savant'. In spite of all these qualifications, he died in abject poverty, and his MSS. were acquired by [Michel Eugène] Chevreul, the contenarian chemist [1786-1889]. On the first fly-leaf also is inscribed in ink 'Ex libris Rudolf Meyer Paris. 1905'. Produced in Chambéry.

c. 1660-c. 1750

1 volume 3 ll. (last bl.). + 2 ll. + 1091 pp. + 1 bl. l. 4to. 231/2 × 161/2 cm. Original quarter-calf binding, damaged. The following leaves are wanting: Pp. 5-8, 41-44, 77-84, 106-108, 129-132, 149-152, 155/6, 329-332, 361-364, 457-460, 485-488, 509-512, 537/8, 623-626, 633-634, 649-652, 745-748, 773-776, 809-812, 881-884, 915/6, 945-948, 977-980, 997-1000, 1013-1016, 1037-1088. Many margins are frayed and damaged. Pp. 989-992 have been bound in after p. 920.

Purchased 1930.

Database description transcribed from S.A.J. Moorat, Catalogue of Western Manuscripts on Medicine and Science in the Wellcome Historical Medical Library (London: Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, 1962-1973).