Bit of history: "The Complete Herbal" by Nicholas Culpepper, 1653 (1 Viewer)

[therium]

This is part of a book called "The Complete Herbal" by Nicholas Culpepper published in 1653. It is only to be used for historical purposes, but it's a good read about herbal remedies of that day.

This release only goes part way through names of plants that begin with "d". The whole book is enormous with at least 100 herbs and their uses. The original text files is 31,000 lines, then I have to reformat it using Markdown, then convert Markdown into an EPUB. This takes quite a lot of time and I don't even have the pictures in place.

This comes with a Table of Contents for your Ereader. EPUB is compatible with KOBO ereaders (they support EPUB by default), tablets of various types (with the appropriate software installed). Kindle tablets will also need a third-party ereader software installed as I don't think they natively support EPUB though it's an open format quickly gaining popularity.

Download EPUB here: http://tiny.cc/culpepper

As I release updated versions of the book the URL above will stay the same, you don't have to do anything.

I find it interesting to see how people wrote back then. I've read several old books from the 1600s onward and one of the biggest problems is lack of standard spelling, and enormous run-on paragraphs. As this is from 1653 this is one of the best books I've read yet from before 1800.

 

[therium]

The link above has been updated. What the link does now is it takes you to a public folder, so here are the steps to download "herbal-culpepper-1653-test.epub".

1. Go to this link: http://tiny.cc/culpepper
2. To the far right of the file "herbal-culpepper-1653-test.epub" click the [...] in the box.
3. Choose download.
4. Save the file to your PC.
5. Now open the EPUB with your favorite reading software.
6. If necessary, transfer the EPUB file to your ereader.

I've added much more to the EPUB but it still is not done. Enjoy!

 

[Toller]

Here's one for you from 1897 - W T Fernie Herbal Simples :-

Reference Fernie, W T: Herbal Simples, v.1, 22 Nov 2007. - MobileRead Forums

Reference Fernie, W T: Herbal Simples, v.1, 22 Nov 2007. Kindle Books

www.mobileread.com

(prc = mobi)

 

[therium]

Ok, it's done! Please use the instructions above to download the EPUB file. While the filename still ends with "-test" it is the final file, where I might fix errors after this point on.

 

[Laron]

If anyone was wondering about the copyright situation, here's the answer:

Excerpt from the book:

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at http://www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.​

The Project Gutenberg Licence:

"Project Gutenberg does not claim new copyright on titles it publishes. Instead, it encourages their free reproduction and distribution. Most books in the Project Gutenberg collection are distributed as public domain under United States copyright law."​

A link to the licence information: https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:The_Project_Gutenberg_License

I noticed this thread was on the Universal board so moved it over to the health board.

 

[Lila]

therium, you have a knack for finding old written treasures troves!
I hope to have a chance to check this one out soon.
I'm sure there'll be some great old information in there, if only there is time to sift through it all

 

[therium]

I used to be part of project Gutenberg, with transcribing images of pages into text. I'd get the image of a single page, and below that, the text that was extracted from the image. From there I had to fix any errors and they have pretty strict guidelines for formatting. Gutenberg really researches their laws and copyright very well, they even have a checklist to help you get the copyright research done.

It can be fun to come across old books either just for their writing style, or to see a hint of how society was over 100 years ago.

 

[Snowmelt]

I know when I'm aligned - I just read about Nicholas Culpepper before finding this thread!

http://downgardenservices.org.uk/dock.html

Nicholas Culpepper
(17th century astrologer-physician)
"The Red Dock, also known as Bloodwort, cleanseth the blood and strengthens the liver, but The Yellow Dock root is best used when either the blood or liver is affected by choler.
All the docks have a cooling, drying quality, Sorrel being most cold and the Bloodworts most drying. The seed of the Dock does stay laxes and fluxes of all sorts, and is helpful for those that spit blood.
The roots boiled in vinegar helpeth the itch, scabs and breaking out of the skin, if it be bathed therewith. The distilled water of the herb and root cleanseth the skin from freckles, morphews and other spots and discolourings."
Choler - bile.

I am needing help with my liver, so maybe I should look into this piece of advice.