Mercury

Imported from

• Holland
• Italy
• Germany
• Gibraltar
• Spain
• Channel Islands
• France
• United States of America
• Columbia
• British North America
• British West Indies
• Austrian Territories
• Hamburg
• Portugal
• China
• South Africa
• Russia

Description

A heavy, metallic element, mercury is curious in that it is liquid at room temperature. It is used in the production of gaseous chlorine and caustic soda. It was also used to make hats from animal furs.

Recorded as "Quicksilver" in the database

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_(element)

A Compendium of Domestic Medicine, 1865

All page numbers are recorded as (PDF #/SOURCE #)

Entry for Quicksilver:

“Was known to the ancients, and employed by them in the art of gilding, and for other purposes in the arts. It is the basis of all mercurial preparations. In the time of Charles the Second’s reign, quicksilver was celebrated as an alternative, and was much used by the ladies of that period, in doses of a small teaspoonful night and morning, to beautify the complexion, remove freckles, and to produce the same effects as cosmetics.” (143-4/122-3)