This is an advertisement found in the Drug Price Lists & Circulars collection at the Lloyd. Note, the "la grippe" bug depicted has something that looks like cricket legs and an eye. Today, we would know this ailment as the common "flu" - and it looks nothing like this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenza - nice picture of it here, actually. The ad was from the Antikamnia Chemical Co. of St. Louis - the name means "anti pain" and they sold some heroin products, and all manner of pain-ending concoctions, per their name. This is just a sample from this collection of hundreds of drug price lists and circulars from just about every company you can think of from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Magic and Myth of Alchemy

Check out the Lloyd's latest online exhibit, "The Magic and Myth of Alchemy." Did you know that this year, 2011, was the International Year of Chemistry? In celebration of that fact, the Lloyd Library is showcasing its many and historic volumes on alchemy, the intellectual and scientific precursor to chemistry. Alchemy laid the foundations for chemistry, establishing laboratory procedures and creating a great deal of laboratory equipment that is today still in use, in some form.

Tthe Lloyd holds books from the 16th through 20th centuries on alchemy and a wealth of resources on chemistry. Don't miss your chance to learn about this mythical science, where it got its start, and why it is still appealing today!

World Travelers: 3 Men, 3 Visions, 3 Centuries April 23 - July 29, 2011

This newest exhibit at the Lloyd Library and Museum was inspired by the joie de vivre of one of the Lloyd's dearest patrons and friends, Pierre Rene Sotteau (1925-2010). Sotteau, Professor Emeritus of Miami University (OH), French Department, was a long-time user of the Lloyd's resources, helped with exhibits, research and more. In his last years, he was researching Curtis Gates Lloyd, one of the Library's founders. The two men shared a love of travel, and Sotteau had been busily tracking down Lloyd's travels around the world. A curious connection to Lloyd, through Sotteau, was revealed in the person of photographer, Joel Quimby, an acquaintance of Pierre's. Quimby's photographs of Madagascar from a recent trip are remarkably similar to Lloyd's photographs of the Caribbean islands over 100 years ago. Pierre Sotteau connected Lloyd and Quimby in a way he perhaps never imagined. Now, the travels of all three men will be on exhibit at the Lloyd - book and memorabilia exhibit highlights some of Sotteau's favorite travel destinations, while the art gallery holds selections of Quimby's and Lloyd's travel photographs.
Don't miss this opportunity!

Lloyd on Cincinnati Magazine top 5

Lloyd Library just made one of Cincinnati Magazine's top 5 lists. Check it out at the link below. They mention the Sloane and chocolate exhibit, but remember, if you can't make it in to see the exhibit, it exists online - just visit the Lloyd's website and exhibits page to take a virtual tour! http://www.cincinnatimagazine.com/article.aspx?id=98068
http://www.lloydlibrary.org/exhibts.html

The Chocolate Connection: Hans Sloane and Jamaica

Recently, the Lloyd Library and Museum opened a new set of exhibits centered on the theme of chocolate. Now, the rare and unique books part of that exhibit is online. The Chocolate Connection: Hans Sloane and Jamaica tells the story of Hans Sloane,a British naturalist and physician, who went to Jamaica in the late 1600s and was there introduced to drinking chocolate. While he didn't much care for the beverage he was served, he modified it, added milk and a few other ingredients, and thus was born hot chocolate, a beverage that he and others sold as a medicinal agent for calming upset stomachs and the like.

You'll get to see some cool images of chocolate and related materials drawn from the Lloyd's fascinating collection, and you get to learn about the history of this food so many are obsessed with. A fun time for all. And, when you're done, there's a reading list of some of the books held by the Lloyd on Sloane, chocolate, and Jamaica, as well as a list of links to reputable sources for additional information on all three.

If you can make it into the Library, the exhibit is on until the end of January 2011.

Botanical Prints from Lloyd's Treasures - NEW EXHIBIT

The Lloyd is fortunate to have so many wonderful representative volumes on many types and styles of botanical illustration. They are, in fact, so wonderful, it's really hard to pick a favorite.
That said, we have put together a collection of some of the more interesting and spectacular images from our botanical works here at the Lloyd in a colorful and fun slideshow for our online visitors. We invite you to view the slideshow and enjoy the images from a variety of artists, including Mark Catesby, William Woodville, and Maria Sibylla Merian.

http://www.lloydlibrary.org/exhibits/llmtreasures/index.htm

Leave us a comment here and let us know what you think or which one is your favorite!

Lloyd Partners with CETconnect

Lloyd Library and Museum is now a partner with CETconnect.org. You can watch Lloyd Library videos on CETconnect, Cincinnati Public Media. Just search for Lloyd Library. Currently, you can catch our own Betsy Kruthoffer on CETconnect talking about our recent exhibit on Mark Catesby. Coming up is our director, Maggie Heran, speaking about the soon to be installed Lloyd Medicinal Garden at the Ohio Heritage Garden at the Governor's Residence, Columbus, OH.

Introduction to the Lloyd Library and Museum

The Lloyd Library and Museum in downtown Cincinnati, OH, is a scientific research library devoted to the study of botany, pharmacy, pharmaceutical/medical history, chemistry, and natural history. The library holds both historic and current books and journals in these fields (1493-2009, to be exact). But, the collection is also rich in visual arts and literary arts resources. The botanical and natural history illustrations alone are worth a visit and can provide endless inspiration.

Our latest venture is an online exhibit featuring Charles Darwin and his colleagues, based on holdings within the Library. www.lloydlibrary.org/exhibits/darwin/index.html - this exhibit is modelled on social networking websites, but features Charles Darwin and some of the many, many people he corresponded with over decades of time. Come for the virtual visit and let us know what you think, either here, or via the Lloyd Library and Museum Facebook group page (you can access it off our homepage).