To modern eyes, the Victorians displayed a number of toxic traits—not least of which was a penchant for poisoning themselves. After a long day of applying lead-based cosmetics and eating adulterated bread, a person of the 1800s might kick back under the indoor gas lamp with a brilliant green book bound in arsenic-dyed cloth. A sickening number of these volumes are still in circulation today—posing a potential health hazard to librarians and researchers who handle them frequently. Today we’re talking about the Poison Books Project, an initiative of the Winterthur Library and the University of Delaware. The PBP identifies and catalogs books bound with toxic pigments and offers safety tips for those who work with them. Enjoy this to-dye-for new #brattlecast—and learn more about the Poison Books Project here.
Brattlecast #155 - Pick Your Poison
Today in the studio we have a first American edition of the catchily titled Directions on the Treatment for Persons who have Taken Poison, and those in a State of Apparent Death, Together with the Means of Detecting Poisons and Adulterations in Wine, also, of Distinguishing Real from Apparent Death by Mathieu Joseph B. Orfila. While we wouldn’t necessarily recommend following its medical advice, the book provides a fascinating look at early toxicology. It describes the effects and (alleged) treatments of various potions, poisons, and scorpion stings—a helpful resource to anyone working on a historical murder mystery. Join us for anecdotes about antidotes on a killer episode of the #brattlecast.