Silent Photoplay Forum

How about that? Wasn't that an interesting find?

Last night I looked up (or tried to look up) some of the ingredients of the prescription to see if I could find out what it might have been used for, but didn't have much luck. There is some misspelling and handwriting vagueness on some of the items that doesn't help. I may try again.

I've always wanted to research the ingredients, but didn't want to handle the book too long. Now that I have photos, I may try my luck as well.

I tried to research the pharmacy, but didn't have much luck, either. Results for the hotel came up, though.

This is what I can come up with regarding that prescription.

Carbonate Potassium 1/2 oz
Glycerine 1/2 oz
Lavender Corn 1 1/2 oz
Nitrate Potassium 1/2 oz
Naphtha Vitrioli 1/2 oz
Aqua Ammonia 1 oz
Cocoa Oil squiggly sofo 1/2 oz
Aqua Pera 1 oz

I can't figure out what the part after oil is. Notice how it looks like he got bored writing out the prescription, as he was very neat at first, with the handwriting getting worse as the note went on. I'm not sure what aqua pera is. Or Lavender Corn for that matter!

You did a better job than I did deciphering some of the items. I did go on a search for aqua pera earlier, as it sounds like an interesting ingredient, but didn’t get anywhere either. I don’t think there is such a thing; he must have misspelled it or misunderstood it, as I suspect he did some other things. Ah well, the mysteries of life...

I've been looking at some online pdf's of old books by Daniel Carter Beard, one of my favorite authors. He was an outdoorsman, the founder of the Boy Scouts in the U.S., and also an illustrator. He wrote several books primarily for young people in the late 1800's to early 1900's.

This is an illustration from one of his books in a chapter on insect collecting.

That's pretty cool! I'll keep an eye out for his name when I go book hunting.

I wanted to discuss your Good Manners book. I'm reading the part in 'motoring' and it lists what the courteous driver does and doesn't do. This one is super weird. Is this something people actually did/do?

That's a new one on me. So it's ok when not carrying women passengers??

That book is endlessly entertaining to me because of the stuff like that that turns up.

Here's an interesting silent film related book from 1915 called My Strange Life: The Intimate Life Story of a Moving Picture Actress. The book is "illustrated with photographs of America's most famous motion picture actresses"; Mary Pickford, Marguerite Clark, Mary Fuller, Grace Cunard, Edna Mayo, Norma Phillips, Alice Joyce, Blanche Sweet, Pearl White, Kathlyn Williams, Clara Kimball Young, and Lillian Walker.

I'm going to be reading this over the week. From the first couple of pages it seems to be in a diary format. Just read the first three sentences: "My secret! How can I tell it? How can I bear to confess it?"

The full book on Internet Archive

Btw, I wasn't sure if this should've been in the books or silent section. Feel free to move this thread to the appropriate place, Kitty!

This is so cool!!! Thanks for sharing. Right now it seems to be available in new print and original form, as well as being on archive, as you link. Yes, I'm going to move this post. You probably have gathered that I love antique books so much, so I really want this book now.