A selection of volumes from our special collections and archives pertaining to medicinal and food recipes, dating from the 1600s to the early 1900s. The selection contains handwritten volumes, scrapbooks, as well as published books, many of which were created or compiled in Canada.
John Davis Barnett donated over 40,000 books and thousands of pamphlets, the largest single gift ever received by a Canadian library, to the University of Western Ontario in August 1918 and became Western's first librarian. Barnett's goal was to provide the nucleus of a national library, and so the donation was received with the understanding that his books would be available to everyone.
A selection of volumes from our special collections and archives pertaining to medicinal and food recipes, dating from the 1600s to the early 1900s. The selection contains handwritten volumes, scrapbooks, as well as published books, many of which were created or compiled in Canada.
This collection from the John and Amelia Harris Family fonds contains the personal diaries of Amelia Harris (1798-1882) from 1857 to 1882 which detail her day-to-day life primarily in London, Ontario; the travel diary of Lucy Harris (1845-1901) during her 1897 trip to Japan; and the travel diaries of Milly Harris (1868-1959) from 1893 to 1903 which detail her trips around the world and include news clippings, magazine cutouts, photos, and pressed flowers.
The Medical Scrapbooks contain clippings which focus on Western’s Medical School, medicine in London, southwestern Ontario and the world. The scrapbooks were created by Western’s medical school and are a great resource for local medical history.
Photographs taken in and around Muncey, Ontario in the 1940s. These photographs were found with a donation from the Ladies Orange Benevolent Association Lodge No. 89. They were removed as not being relevant to that fonds. The group of photographs were initially named “Peter Family Photographs and Muncey [Munsee] Reserve” and has been renamed “Muncey Photograph Collection."
The Nursing Diaries collection of diaries, certificates, a photograph, and a yearbook about two nurses, from the 1920s and 1950s. This includes material from the Ruby Muriel Carter fonds and the Kathleen McIntyre fonds.
Six Nations of the Grand River is a reserve located on the Grand River that is made up of the six Haudenosaunee Nations: Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk, Tuscarora.
This digitized collection contains a letter book kept by John Brant during his time serving as resident superintendent of the Six Nations of the Grand River (from 1828-1832), and four loose letters that were found in the letter book dating to after the death of Brant.
Western Archives has repatriated the physical documents to the Six Nations Lands and Resources Office.
The digitized items on this site are a selection of personal correspondence from the Gustav Mahler-Alfred Rosé Collection.
The full collection includes personal correspondence, concert documents, scores, manuscripts, recognition, primary publications, secondary publications, university papers, photographs, recordings, memorabilia and artifacts mainly relating to the private and professional lives of Gustav Mahler, Alfred Rosé, Arnold Rosé, Alma Rosé, Bruno Walter, Justine Rosé, and Maria Rosé.
This collection includes the University of Western Ontario Reports of the President to the Board of Governors from 1928 to 2006.
Note: We do not have copies for the academic years 1978-1979, 1979-1980, 1992-1993, 1994-1995, 1995-1996, 1996-1997, 1997-1998, 1999-2000, or 2000-2001.
Call number: RS127.C6 1719. A recipe book containing recipes for cooking and medicine. Full title: A collection of above three hundred receipts in cookery, physick and surgery; for the use of all good wives, tender mothers, and careful nurses. By several hands. 2d ed., to which is added, a second part, containing a great number of excellent receipts, for preserving and conserving of sweet-meats &c.
Archival box number: B4119. The accounts and medical recipe books of George Whitehouse, a physician and surgeon of London, dating approximately 1850-1870. Volume 1 contains office accounts from 1851-1857 as well as food and medicinal recipes with family legal notes. Volume 2 contains recipes and medicinal recipes only.
Call number: RS125.W66 1651. Contains recipes relating to medicine and surgery. Full title: An Epitomie of most experienced, excellent and profitable secrets appertaining to physicke and chirurgery : for all those diseases that are most predominant and dangerous (curable by art) in the body of man, as by the table appeares ; also, the judgement of urines ; for the benefit of such discreet ladies, gentlewomen and other which labour to doe good in that art, mystery and profession, by O.W., Professour in physicke and chyrurgery.
Call number: RD30.P8 C66 1799. Manuscript containing lecture notes on surgery copied after Pott's death, dated 1799 on title. The book was subsequently used by several others through the 19th century, containing notes concerning current events, recipes, travel, plants, literary quotes, short original pieces, and more. The book was subsequently re-purposed as a scrapbook, with clippings pasted to many pages (sometimes over handwritten entries) and a large quantity of pages in the middle of the book left blank.
Call number: TX713.H363 1600z. An unbound book, with several gatherings bound by string. British or American, late 17th - early 19th century manuscript containing more than 250 recipes, recipes for citron water dated 1804, written in different hands. Authors include Mrs. Wentworth, Mrs. Phillpott, Mrs. Warren, and Weeks.
Call number: TX714.H55 1823. A collection of recipes, written in a variety of hands. Alternate title: "Mrs. Hill's Cookery Book." Dated 1823 and later.
Call number: TX714.M36 1850. A recipe book containing recipes in a variety of hands, including recipes for making and preserving food, drink, medical preparations, other household items, and more; the journal likely used for other purposes along the way, including by a glazier. Dated 1850. Printed label of Chambers and Hallagan's printing office, 4 Abbey Street, Dublin.
Call number: RS131.23.T39 1885. A collection of medical recipes. Full title: The medical recipes of the late Doctor Taylor of Innerkip, published, according to instructions left by him, by Geo. Hotson & Jas. Miller. Alternate title: Valuable medicinal recipes used by the late Dr. Taylor of Innerkip.
Call number: TX705.F8. A recipe book containing recipes for cooking, baking, pickling, and preserving. Full title: The practice of cookery, pastry, pickling, preserving, & c. containing figures of dinners. With: some short observations concerning the due method of treating the gout, & c.
