The Housekeeper's Receipt Book (Carter's Compound Extract of Smart Weed)

Printed by Ashby & Vincent, Erie, PA. Purple printed wraps, 12mo, 32pp. Ad on last page for Alps Insurance Company dated 1873. Sunning around the edges of the pleasingly purple wraps, shallow chipping to the fore- and bottom edges, waviness to textblock, else Very Good (if Very Fragile). A booklet promoting Dr. Jno. S. Carter's Family Medicines, particularly Carter's Compound Extract of Smart Weed, offering recipes for cooking, dyeing, washing hair brushes, estimating the amount of hay in a mow, etc. "Carter's Female Restorative" is recommended for "Weakly wives, mothers and daughters," and between their periods. The content is formatted so that each recipe alternates with a promotional message, making it impossible to use the reference without absorbing the advertising--"For suppression or painful Menses, Carter's Extract of Smart Weed is Nature's own medicine" and "Remember parents, the Balm of Gilead is an excellent remedy for the Whooping Cough." A smart tactic, if unsettling, to have a recipe for currant jam bookended with a note about suppressing Menstruation.