Pliny the Elder, Marco Polo, and the Recipe for Stone Soup: Old Even For History

I am in 7th Heaven, or maybe a kid in a candy shop. I have found in one book entries for 1,594 asbestos-related documents published prior to 1930.

In the below New York Library reference book published in 1929, number 788 of the 1,594 documents discusses the work on asbestos by Pliny the Elder, and number 789a does the same for Marco Polo. The small print includes specifics about the collections.

As an example, the Pliny small print states that asbestos is useful for counteracting “all noxious spells, those wrought by magician in particular.” That was a new one to me.

I followed up with the New York Library and, within a day, they responded with their process to get copies. In summary, getting the documents will take some effort, but the library likely has retained them all.

The entries for many historical figures have similar details. Marco Polo discusses incombustible salamander cloth. Erik Pontoppldan, number 790, was the author for Norway, translating it from the original Danish. At pages 168-9, Pontoppldan discusses making stone soup. We know from a prior blog dealing with Spain, stone soup was asbestos typically sold by apothecaries.

Let me know what you think either by leaving a comment or sending me an email to TheAsbestosBlog@gmail.com. Thanks. Marty