RevolutionCrossroads/si_us_revolutionary_era_collections huggingface dataset:
R. Nardi Yndica
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: jar
date made: 18th century
Physical Description: ceramic (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 25.3 cm x 13.2 cm; 9 31/32 in x 5 3/16 in
Credit line: Gift of American Pharmaceutical Association and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Publisher: Urdang, George and Ferdinand William Nitardy. The Squibb Ancient Pharmacy: A Catalogue of the Collection
Topics: Art
Pharmacy
European Apothecary
Health & Medicine
Description: This urn–shaped drug jar has a grayish–white glaze, a straight neck and a round domed foot. A rectangular label is formed at the center of the jar by thin brown and yellow stripes topped by four C–scrolls to form a blue cartouche with a yellow center. The label creates a frame for the jar’s inscription. The outer frame is surrounded at the top and bottom with blue and green vines and yellow swags of beads.
The jar is marked <i>R. Nardi Yndicae.</i>” Correspondence in 1954 between Division of Medicine Associate Curator George Griffenhagen and George Urdang notes that the jars appear to be of Catalonian–Aragonese origin. The jar would have contained Radice Nardus Indica. Nardi (Nard or Nardus) Indica comes from the root of Indian nard or spikenard. Nard comes from the Valerian family of plants and was used as incense in the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem. Nard was also used to induce menstruation and reduce gas in the stomach. It also served as a sedative, a perfume, and a cure for insomnia.
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AQUA PRUN PADI
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: bottle
date made: 18th century
Measurements: overall: 5.6 cm x 2 cm x 2 cm; 2 7/32 in x 25/32 in x 25/32 in
Credit line: Gift of American Pharmaceutical Association and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Publisher: Urdang, George and Ferdinand William Nitardy. The Squibb Ancient Pharmacy: A Catalogue of the Collection
Topics: Art
Pharmacy
European Apothecary
Health & Medicine
Description: This glass jar has a broken lip. The blue and white baked enamel label is marked <i>AQUA PRUN PADI</i> in black text. Prunus padus is a species of cherry tree native to Europe. Its leaves and flowers would have been distilled in water to make Aqua Prunus Padus. The solution was used as a narcotic and a digestive. It would have contained hydrocyanic acid, which is poisonous in large amounts.
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Apothecary Bottle, OL ROSAR
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: bottle
bottle; Pharmaceutical Container
date made: 18th century
Physical Description: glass (overall material)
paint (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 7 cm x 3.5 cm x 3.6 cm; 2 3/4 in x 1 3/8 in x 1 7/16 in
Credit line: Gift of American Pharmaceutical Association and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Publisher: Urdang, George and Ferdinand William Nitardy. The Squibb Ancient Pharmacy: A Catalogue of the Collection
Topics: Medicine
Art
Pharmacy
European Apothecary
Description: This glass apothecary jar has a baked enamel label marked <i>OL ROSAR</i>. The mouth of the bottle is sealed with a dark, sticky unknown substance.
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BALS MECH
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: bottle
bottle; Pharmaceutical Container
date made: 18th century
Physical Description: glass (overall material)
paint (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 13 cm x 6.7 cm x 6.8 cm; 5 1/8 in x 2 5/8 in x 2 11/16 in
Credit line: Gift of American Pharmaceutical Association and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Publisher: Urdang, George and Ferdinand William Nitardy. The Squibb Ancient Pharmacy: A Catalogue of the Collection
Topics: Art
Pharmacy
Religion
European Apothecary
Description: This blown and molded bottle is marked <i>BALS MECH</i>. The bottle would have contained the Balsam of Mecca (or Balm of Gilead); a viscous liquid derived from the tree Balsamodendron opobalsamum. Real balsam of Mecca came from the former Ottoman Empire and was scarce, and boiled balsam leaves were often substituted. The balsam of Mecca was used as an antiseptic, stimulant, and vulnerary.
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ESS L SANET
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: bottle
bottle; Pharmaceutical Container
date made: 18th century
Physical Description: glass (overall material)
paint (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 13.5 cm x 6.7 cm x 6.7 cm; 5 5/16 in x 2 5/8 in x 2 5/8 in
Credit line: Gift of American Pharmaceutical Association and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Publisher: Urdang, George and Ferdinand William Nitardy. The Squibb Ancient Pharmacy: A Catalogue of the Collection
Topics: Art
Pharmacy
European Apothecary
Health & Medicine
Description: This blown and molded bottle has a narrow neck and a flared lip. The bottle has a baked enamel label framed by a Baroque style blue and yellow cartouche. The label reads <i>ESS L SANET</i> in black, with the first initial of each word in red.
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AQ CINAMOM BUGL
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: bottle
bottle; Pharmaceutical Container
date made: 18th century
Physical Description: glass (overall material)
paint (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 16 cm x 7.5 cm x 7.6 cm; 6 5/16 in x 2 15/16 in x 3 in
Credit line: Gift of American Pharmaceutical Association and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Publisher: Urdang, George and Ferdinand William Nitardy. The Squibb Ancient Pharmacy: A Catalogue of the Collection
Topics: Art
Pharmacy
European Apothecary
Health & Medicine
Description: This blown and molded bottle has a label which reads <i>AQ CINAMOM BUGL</i> in black text, with the first initial of each word in red. It would have contained Aqua Cinnamomi Bugleweed, or cinnamon water with bugleweed. Bugleweed yields black dye, and has astringent and sedative qualities. Cinnamon water was used as a tonic for stomach ailments.
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ELIX VITRIOL MYNS
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: bottle
bottle; Pharmaceutical Container
date made: 18th century
Physical Description: glass (overall material)
paint (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 13.3 cm x 6.8 cm x 6.9 cm; 5 1/4 in x 2 11/16 in x 2 11/16 in
Credit line: Gift of American Pharmaceutical Association and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Publisher: Urdang, George and Ferdinand William Nitardy. The Squibb Ancient Pharmacy: A Catalogue of the Collection
Topics: Medicine
Art
Pharmacy
European Apothecary
Description: This blown and molded square-shaped jar has a Baroque-style blue and yellow cartouche with red and black lettering. The baked enamel label is marked in red and black <i>ELIX VITRIOL MYNS</i>.
[None]
TINCT KALINA
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: bottle
bottle; Pharmaceutical Container
date made: 18th century
Physical Description: glass (overall material)
paint (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 13 cm x 7.2 cm x 7.2 cm; 5 1/8 in x 2 13/16 in x 2 13/16 in
Credit line: Gift of American Pharmaceutical Association and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Publisher: Urdang, George and Ferdinand William Nitardy. The Squibb Ancient Pharmacy: A Catalogue of the Collection
Topics: Art
Pharmacy
European Apothecary
Health & Medicine
Description: This blown and molded bottle is marked <i>TINCT KALINA</i>. The bottle would have contained tincture of kalina, a solution of powdered potassium carbonate in alcohol. The tincture of kalina was prescribed as a blood thinner, diaphoretic, antacid, diuretic, or laxative.
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RAD JAL
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: bottle
bottle; Pharmaceutical Container
date made: 18th century
Physical Description: glass (overall material)
paint (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 13.3 cm x 6.5 cm x 6.3 cm; 5 1/4 in x 2 9/16 in x 2 1/2 in
Credit line: Gift of American Pharmaceutical Association and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Publisher: Urdang, George and Ferdinand William Nitardy. The Squibb Ancient Pharmacy: A Catalogue of the Collection
Estes, J. Worth. Dictionary of Protopharmacology: Therapeutic Practices, 1700-1850
Topics: Art
Pharmacy
European Apothecary
Health & Medicine
Description: This blown and molded square-shaped bottle has an unusually wide neck and a flared lip. The white baked enamel shield is framed by stylized blue leaves with yellow and red flowers. A yellow crown sits atop the shield. The jar is labeled with the alchemical symbol for powder and the text <i>RAD JAL</i> in black. Jalap Root, native to the mountainous regions of Mexico was introduced to Europe in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, and was used as a cathartic and diuretic.
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TR GUAIC VOLi
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: bottle
bottle; PHARMACEUTICAL CONTAINER
date made: 18th century
unspecified: Germany
Physical Description: glass (overall material)
paint (overall material)
colorless (overall color)
white (overall color)
yellow (overall color)
blue (overall color)
red (overall color)
black (overall color)
blown (overall production method/technique)
Measurements: overall: 11.5 cm x 6.3 cm x 6 cm; 4 1/2 in x 2 1/2 in x 2 3/8 in
Credit line: Gift of American Pharmaceutical Association and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Publisher: Urdang, George and Ferdinand William Nitardy. The Squibb Ancient Pharmacy: A Catalogue of the Collection
Topics: Art
Pharmacy
European Apothecary
Health & Medicine
Description: This blown and molded square-shaped glass drug jar has rounded shoulders, and a narrow neck with a flared lip. The enamel label is a white shield outlined in yellow and blue. The yellow crown has yellow flowers surrounded by white dots. George Urdang, historian of pharmacy and cataloguer of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Collection attributes this bottle to the Court Pharmacy of Phillnitz.in what is today an eastern neighborhood of Dresden, Germany. The bottle is marked <i>TR GUAJAC VOL</i> in black with the first letter of each word in red. this bottle would have contained a tincture of guiac, a tincture made from the resin or wood of the lignum vitae tree. Guiac was used as a diuretic, cathartic, and diaphoretic, and was supposed to be effective in treating syphilis.
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Apothecary Bottle, COCHLEAR
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: bottle
date made: 18th century
Physical Description: glass (overall material)
paint (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 22.5 cm x 11 cm; 8 7/8 in x 4 5/16 in
Credit line: Gift of American Pharmaceutical Association and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Publisher: Urdang, George and Ferdinand William Nitardy. The Squibb Ancient Pharmacy: A Catalogue of the Collection
Topics: Art
Pharmacy
European Apothecary
Health & Medicine
Description: This blown glass drug jar is decorated with a floral wreath and ribbons. The jar is marked with an alchemical symbol and, <i>COCHLEAR.</i> The opaque white color of the glass comes from the addition of tin oxide meant to imitate porcelain.
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Drug Jar
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: jar
jar; Pharmaceutical Container
date made: 18th century
place made: France
Physical Description: ceramic (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 19 cm x 12.5 cm; 7 1/2 in x 4 15/16 in
Credit line: Gift of American Pharmaceutical Association and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Publisher: Boger, Louise Ade. The Dictionary of World Pottery and Porcelain
Drey, Rudolf E.A.. Apothecary Jars
Urdang, George and Ferdinand William Nitardy. The Squibb Ancient Pharmacy: A Catalogue of the Collection
Topics: Medicine
Art
Pharmacy
European Apothecary
Description (Brief): George Urdang author of <i>The Squibb Ancient Pharmacy Catalogue</i> attributes 1991.0664.0681 through 1991.0664.0705 to Niderwiller, a town near Strasbourg in the Alsace region of France. This baluster-shaped jar has a scallop edged foot and a flat round lid. The container has a white-glaze background with two continuous rings of blue, orange and yellow stylized flowers. The label of the jars ingredient is applied in black between the two bands. The foot has a berry and leaf vine at its edge.
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Apothecary Jar
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: jar
jar
date made: 18th century
place made: France
Physical Description: ceramic (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 21.5 cm x 14 cm; 8 15/32 in x 5 1/2 in
overall: 8 1/4 in x 5 1/2 in; 20.955 cm x 13.97 cm
Credit line: Gift of American Pharmaceutical Association and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Publisher: Urdang, George and Ferdinand William Nitardy. The Squibb Ancient Pharmacy: A Catalogue of the Collection
Topics: Art
Pharmacy
European Apothecary
Health & Medicine
Description: A straight walled container with a flat lid and a blue oval label framed by two mermaids. Containers with blank labels could be filled with different ingredients depending on the apothecaries needs. When the contents of the jars were replaced, apothecaries would write the appropriate name in the medallion.
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E CORT: PERUV
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: jar
jar
date made: 1775-1788
maker: Hugo Brouwer
place made: Netherlands: South Holland, Delft
Physical Description: ceramic (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 25.5 cm x 19 cm; 10 1/32 in x 7 15/32 in
overall: 10 in x 7 1/8 in; 25.4 cm x 18.0975 cm
Credit line: Gift of American Pharmaceutical Association and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Publisher: Wittop Koning, D.A.. Delftse Apothekers Potten
Urdang, George and Ferdinand William Nitardy. The Squibb Ancient Pharmacy: A Catalogue of the Collection
Topics: Art
Pharmacy
European Apothecary
Health & Medicine
Description: This tin glazed cylindrical drug jar has a short straight neck and flared foot. The container is decorated with cobalt blue laurel branches. The interior of the wreath is marked, “E CORT:PERUV.” The jar is the work of Hugo Brouwer, who owned a ceramics factory in Delft, the Netherlands.
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scale, hand held
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: balance
scale
date made: 18th century
Physical Description: brass (overall material)
cotton (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 5 in x 2 3/4 in x 3/4 in; 12.7 cm x 6.985 cm x 1.905 cm
Credit line: Gift of American Pharmaceutical Association and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Publisher: Urdang, George and Ferdinand William Nitardy. The Squibb Ancient Pharmacy: A Catalogue of the Collection
Topics: Art
Pharmacy
European Apothecary
Description: Tiny, shallow, brass bowls attached to the balance with black cotton string.
[None]
Andiron
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: andiron
date made: 1790 - 1800
place made: United States
Physical Description: iron, wrought (upright, legs, billet bar material)
brass (finial, support block material)
Measurements: overall: 15 1/8 in x 12 in x 19 3/8 in; 38.4175 cm x 30.48 cm x 49.2125 cm
Credit line: John Paul Remensnyder
Topics: Furnishings
Description: Knife-blade andiron with brass urn and acorn finial on and low-arched legs ending in penny feet. Hollow-cast, vertically-seamed finial and thin, square support block are peened on top of the upright, which is tenoned through the legs. Billet bar tenoned through plinth of upright. No marks. One of a pair, 1978.0939.246-.247.
Andiron
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: andiron
date made: 1790 - 1800
place made: United States
Physical Description: iron, wrought (upright, legs, billet bar material)
brass (finial, support block material)
Measurements: overall: 15 3/8 in x 12 in x 18 3/4 in; 39.0525 cm x 30.48 cm x 47.625 cm
Credit line: John Paul Remensnyder
Topics: Furnishings
Description: Knife-blade andiron with brass urn and acorn finial on and low-arched legs ending in penny feet. Hollow-cast, vertically-seamed finial and thin, square support block are peened on top of the upright, which is tenoned through the legs. Billet bar tenoned through plinth of upright. No marks. One of a pair, 1978.0939.246-.247.
Side Chair
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: chair, side
Chair
date made: 1750 - 1800
place made: United States: Delaware
United States: Pennsylvania
place used: United States: Delaware
Physical Description: walnut (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 39 1/2 in x 18 1/4 in x 13 in; 100.33 cm x 46.2915 cm x 33.02 cm
overall: 39 1/4 in x 18 1/4 in x 14 1/2 in; 99.695 cm x 46.355 cm x 36.83 cm
Credit line: Gift of Mary F. and Robert L. Raley
Topics: Furnishings
chair, side
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Chair
chair, side
Pa side chair
date made: 1750 - 1800
place made: United States: Delaware
United States: Pennsylvania
place used: United States: Delaware
Physical Description: walnut (overall material)
Credit line: Gift of Mary F. and Robert L. Raley
Topics: Furnishings
Cradle
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: cradle
Date made: 1775-1800
Physical Description: walnut (wood material)
Measurements: overall: 22 1/2 in x 40 3/4 in x 28 in; 57.15 cm x 103.505 cm x 71.12 cm
Credit line: Mary F. and Robert L. Raley
Topics: Social life and customs
Family
Furnishings
Artifact Walls exhibit
Description: Few of us today would look at the cradle and think of death as well as life. But 18th-century families had to expect many children to die in infancy, and for them a cradle may have evoked feelings of both joy and loss. A Virginian wrote in 1786, "Our Dear babey just lived with us long Anuf to make us love him and began to play and be company for us and them was taken from us."
Celestial Planisphere Called Astrolabe for Latitude 41
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: planisphere
Date made: 1780
maker: De Witt, Simeon
Physical Description: paper (overall material)
Measurements: overall: .2 cm x 12.2 cm x 12.2 cm; 1/16 in x 4 13/16 in x 4 13/16 in
Credit line: Transfer from Smithsonian Institution Archives
Topics: Scientific apparatus and instruments
Science
American Revolution (1775-1783)
Mathematics
Description: This small,,square paper instrument is the oldest surviving Anglo-American star map. It was drawn by hand in 1780 by Simeon de Witt, geographer to George Washington and the Continental army. It shows the bright stars visible in Ringwood, New Jersey, where he was stationed.
The upper section of the instrument consists of three parts. The topmost is a rotating disc with an oval cut out of it. The four cardinal points are indicated on the oval. The edge is divided to degrees, with every 10 degrees marked. Below the oval opening is a perpetual calendar for the years 1781 to 1826. This is labeled: 1780 (/) Simeon DeWitt fecit. (/) The Days of the Months for ever. Below the top disc is a rotating disc, attached to the base, that has a star map on it. The map shows first through fifth magnitude stars (first magnitude stars are indicated by a seven-pointed star, second magnitude by a six-pointed star, 3rd magnitude by a five-pointed star, fourth magnitude by a x and fifth magnitude by a dot). Stars are arranged in constellations. In additiion to Ptolemaic constellations, the constellations Lynx, Columba Noachi, Leo Min, Monocerus, Camelopardalis, Mons Menalus, and Antonius are represented. The 1596 Nova in Cetus and the Via Lactea also are shown. The ecliptic, polar circle, Tropic of Cancer, equator, and Tropic of Capricorn are represented by circles. The edge of the disc has two scales, one of days of the year and the second of degrees of the zodiac.
The third part of the instrument is a square base marked at the top "ASTROLABE FOR Lat. 41." On the left side is a list of sixteen stars of first magnitude. On the right is a list of the constellations that contain these stars. The reverse of the base contains a disc allowing one to determine phases of the moon for dates from 1781 to 1834.
Reference:
P.A. Kidwell, "The astrolabe for latitude 41°N of Simeon de Witt: an early American celestial planisphere," <I>Imago Mundi</I>, 2009, 61, pp. 91-96.
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Persian Planispheric Astrolabe
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: astrolabe
date made: 1775
Physical Description: brass (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 14.7 cm x 9.5 cm x 2.5 cm; 5 25/32 in x 3 3/4 in x 31/32 in
Credit line: Gift of International Business Machines Corporation
Description: The astrolabe is an astronomical calculating device used from ancient times into the eighteenth century. Measuring the height of a star using the alidade on the back of the instrument, and knowing the latitude, one could find the time of night and the position of other stars. The openwork piece on the front, called the rete, is a star map of the northern sky. Pointers on the rete correspond to stars; the outermost circle is the Tropic of Capricorn, and the circle that is off-center represents the zodiac, the apparent annual motion of the sun. Engraved plates that fit below the rete have scales of altitude and azimuth (arc of the horizon) for specific latitudes. This brass Persian astrolabe has a back plate with throne laminated to a rim with throne, a handle, a ring, an alidade with pin, a rete, five plates, a wedge at the front that holds the instrument together, and an index.
The instrument is signed by maker or owner Mu[. . .]ammad [. . .]adiq.
For a detailed description of this object, see Sharon Gibbs with George Saliba, <a href="https://repository.si.edu/handle/10088/2444"><I>Planispheric Astrolabes from the National Museum of American History</I></a>, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1984, pp. 86-90. The object is referred to in the catalog as CCA No. 52.
الاستواء السموي السموي السموي
Persian Planispheric Astrolabe
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: astrolabe
date made: 1801
Physical Description: brass (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 13.9 cm x 9.5 cm x 2.7 cm; 5 15/32 in x 3 3/4 in x 1 1/16 in
Credit line: Gift of International Business Machines Corporation
Description: The astrolabe is an astronomical calculating device used from ancient times into the nineteenth century. Measuring the height of a star using the alidade on the back of the instrument, and knowing the latitude, one could find the time of night and the position of other stars. The openwork piece on the front, called the rete, is a star map of the northern sky. Pointers on the rete correspond to stars; the outermost circle is the Tropic of Capricorn, and the circle that is off-center represents the zodiac, the apparent annual motion of the sun. Engraved plates that fit below the rete have scales of altitude and azimuth (arc of the horizon) for specific latitudes. This brass Persian astrolabe has a back plate with throne laminated to a rim with throne, a handle, an alidade with pin, a rete, seven plates, a ringlet, a wedge at the front that holds the instrument together, and an index on the front..
The instrument is signed maker [. . .]ana ahu Mu[. . .]ammad [. . .]adiq and decorator namaqahu al-Haqir ‘Abdal-Karim, decorator.
For a detailed description of this object, see Sharon Gibbs with George Saliba, <a href="https://repository.si.edu/handle/10088/2444"><I>Planispheric Astrolabes from the National Museum of American History</I></a>, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1984, pp. 90-93. The object is referred to in the catalog as CCA No. 53.
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