Стокгольмский папирус

In a recent issue of This Journal the writer had the privilege of publish­ing an English translation of the famous Leyden Papyrus X together with a few brief comments and notes on its history, contents, and sig­nificance.1 The present article is a similar translation of the contents of the less well-known Stockholm Papyrus. This papyrus likewise has never been translated into English as far as the writer is aware, although Stillman in his interesting "Story of Early Chemistry," has paraphrased several of the most representative recipes. It is offered here in the hope that it will prove of some interest to teachers and students of the history of chemistry. The contents of the papyrus are equally important for the early history of technical chemistry and, if anything, are more varied and comprehensive than those of the one at Leyden. As a matter of fact the two papyri are complementary and taken together they give an excellent cross-sectional view of the operations and aims of chemical technology in the beginning centuries of the Christian Era. They are the only original laboratory documents that have come down to us from that period and hence their great value for the history of chemistry, es­pecially on account of the light they throw upon the beginnings of alchemy.