This small handwritten journal mostly includes recipes for medicines. The first pages seem to be written during the first part of the 1800s and the last pages towards the end of that century. There are at least two different handwritings. The beginning of the book is primarily in English, but some parts towards the end are in French. We don’t know the names of the authors, but some names are recorded in the book, like Lucas Percival and Dr. Allaway, who lived on St. Martin during the 1800s. The author of the first part of the book refers to “my daughter Anna Gumbes” giving a hint of their identity.
Images of all the pages containing text are available here.
Book from the collection of Pierre Beauperthuy. Description and photos by Mark Yokoyama.
