HERB - Distilling oils

[Gaylin Walli]

Here's some information from the Historic Distilling list that
might be of interest to people regarding distillation and herbs
(just in case none of you are on the distilling list) -- Jasmine

  If you get a chance to pick up the June issue of Scientific American,
  there is a nice article on the use of alcohol as a preventative to
  disease from contaminated water supplies throughout history.
  Included is a short citation from an early 1500's printed book:
  "Liber de arte Distillandi" ( "Book of the art (or practice) of
  Distillation" ) - by Hieronymus Brunschwig. It evidently describes the
  production and uses of distilled beverages well within the SCA period.
     Does anybody know about this book, or have access to a
  facsimile/reprint/translations of same?
  (Posted by "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>)

And:

  Liber de arte Distillandi was published in two seperate documents in
  Strassbourg by (I believe) Johann Gruninger (mit the umlaut over the u);
  Liber de arte Distillandi de simplicibus (1500) and Liber de arte
  distillandi de compositis (1507).  (I may be wrong here, because I also have
  a reference that de compositis is the accumulation of Brunschwig's work).
     The books deal with the extraction of herbal essences for pharmaceutical
  purposes by means of distillation with water and alcohol. Equipment and
  techniques are illustrated by a number of woodcuts.
     I am informed that the New York Academy of Medicine is conserving
  copies of these works in their library. You might try:

  Special Collections
  New York Academy of Medicine Library
  1216 Fifth Avenue
  New York, NY 10029
  212-876-8200  ext. 310

  There are also supposed to be copies in the Smithsonian's collections.
  (Posted by "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>)


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