"Libro de i secreti e ricette," compiled by Giovanni Andrea di Farre, Lucca, mostly before 1562.

"Libro de i secreti e ricette," compiled by Giovanni Andrea di Farre, Lucca, mostly before 1562.

The Order of the Jesuati, of which the compiler of this manuscript was a member, was founded around 1366. Devoted entirely to caring for the sick, the Jesuati became the largest manufacturers of pharmaceuticals in Italy until their suppression by Clement IX in 1668. Little was known of their methods of manufacture or the actual medicines which they compounded until the discovery of this manuscript with its more than two thousand recipes and its working drawings and instructions for making and using distillation apparatus. Acquired in 1980 from Lawrence Feinberg through the Helen Foresman Spencer fund.

MS Pryce E1