Lip Salves

A good lip-salve may be made as follows:–

1. Take an ounce of the oil of sweet almonds, cold drawn; a drachm of fresh mutton suet; and a little bruised alkanet root: and simmer the whole together in an earthen pipkin. Instead of the oil of sweet almonds you may use oil of Jasmin, or oil of any other flower, if you intend the lip-salve to have a fragrant odour.

2. Take a pound of fresh butter; a quarter of a pound of beeswax; four or five ounces of cleansed black grapes, and about an ounce of bruised alkanet root. Simmer them together over a slow fire till the wax is wholly dissolved, and the mixture becomes of a bright red color; strain, and put it by for use.

3. Oil of almonds, spermaceti, white wax, and white sugar-candy, equal parts, form a good white lip-salve.

Source: The Ladies’ Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness, Florence Hartley

Very Excellent Lip-Salve

Take four ounces of butter, fresh from the churn, cut it small, put it into a jar, cover it with good rose-water, and let it remain for four or five days; then drain it well, and put it into a small and very clean saucepan, with one ounce of spermaceti, and one of yellow beeswax sliced thin, a quarter of an ounce of bruised alkanet root, two drachms of gum benzoin, and one of storax, beaten to powder, half an ounce of loaf sugar, and the strained juice of a moderate sized lemon. Simmer these gently, keeping them stirred all the time, until the mixture looks very clear, and sends forth a fine aromatic odour; then strain it through a thin doubled muslin, and stir to it from twelve to twenty drops of essential oil of roses, and pour it into small gallipots, from which it can easily be turned out when cold, and then be rubbed against the lips, which is the most pleasant way of using it, as it is much firmer than common lip-salve, and will be found more healing and infinitely more agreeable. When butter cannot be had direct from the churn, any which is quite fresh may be substituted for it, after the salt has been well washed and soaked out of it, by working it with a strong spoon in cold water, in which it should remain for a couple of days or more, the water being frequently changed during the time.

Source: The Ladies’ Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness, Florence Hartley

Deshler’s Salve for Gatherings or Sores

Take half a pound of sheep’s suet, the same of resin and beeswax, a quarter of a pound of thick turpentine, and half a pint of linseed oil; pound the resin, and cut the beeswax and suet; put them over the fire with the other ingredients, and keep stirring till they are mixed, but do not let them boil; put it in a jar, and tie it up. It is good for burns, biles, gathered breasts, &c.

Source: Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and Hints to Young Housekeepers, Elizabeth E. Lea

Salve

Four ounces of mutton-tallow, two of beeswax, one of rosin, and one-half ounce of gum camphor. Simmer well together; take off the fire, and then add one gill of alcohol. Good for all kinds of sores and wounds.

Source: The Universal Cookery Book, Gertrude Strohm

Lip Salve

Dissolve a small lump of white sugar, in a table spoonful of rose water, clear water will do but is not as good. Mix it with a table spoonful of sweet oil, a piece of spermaceti of the size of half a butternut. Simmer the whole together about eight or ten minutes.

Source: The New England Cook Book

Lip Salve

Melt one ounce white wax, one ounce sweet oil, one drachm spermaceti, and throw in a piece of alkanet root to color it, and, when cooling, perfume it with oil rose, and then pour it into small white jars or boxes.

Source: The Canadian Family Cookbook, Grace E. Denison

A salve to cure the Itch in twelve hours

It also destroys lice and nits in twelve hours, and bedbugs, if put in the cracks containing the nits, likewise the weavils.

A person having the itch, must rub himself all over where the pustules are, with this salve, before going to bed, and after rising in the morning, take off the shirt and cleanse himself with a wet rag, after which he has to put on a clean shirt and cleanse the bed, and the itch will have left him. Children are to be greased on the head with this salve, till the hair is all greasy, then the head is to be tied up with a handkerchief. This will kill the lice and nits in one night. The salve is not injurious to children. To be prepared as follows:

To 4 ounces Venice turpentine and 4 ounces red precipitate add one pound fresh butter that has not been in water. This mixture is sufficient for twelve men to rub themselves with for the itch, but the Venice turpentine ought to be washed nine times before it is used for making the salve, which is to be done in the following manner: put one ounce Venice turpentine (or more if a greater quantity of salve is required) into an earthen vessel that will hold a pint, then take a chip of wood and go to where there is running water and holding the vessel containing the turpentine towards the water, take in a full gill and with the chip stir the turpentine well together with the water about two minutes, then pour off the water carefully and take in another gill of water (holding the vessel towards the stream) and stir it well together as before. Thus the turpentine is to be washed nine times, after which it will be very pure. The last water must be poured off completely, then take a quarter of a pound of butter, good weight, just out of the buttermilk and melt it in a pan, but do not suffer it to get hot, then pour it into the vessel with the turpentine and stir it well with the chip of wood; lastly add one ounce red precipitate, stir it again thoroughly, and the salve is done.

N.B. The salve ought every time to be stirred up before it is rubbed on.

Source: Recipes: Information for Everybody, J.F. Landis

Cure for a Felon

The cure is said to be certain and is published at the particular request of a person who had experienced its success for a great number of years.

Take a piece of rock salt about the size of a walnut and wrap it up closely in a green cabbage leaf, but if not to be had, in a piece of brown paper well moistened with water; lay it on hot embers and cover it up as if to roast for twenty minutes, take it up and powder it as fine as possible then take some hard soap and mix the powdered salt with it so as to make a salve, if the soap should contain but little turpentine which its smell will determine add some more, but if it smells pretty strongly of it, none need be added; apply the salve to the part affected and in a short time it will totally destroy the felon and remove the pain.

Source: Household Recipes, Constance Hatton Hart

Green Mountain Salve

Take one pound Beeswax, one pound of soft Butter, and one and one-half pounds soft Turpentine, twelve ounces Balsam Fir. Melt and strain. Use to heal fresh wounds, burns, scalds and all bad sores.

Source: One Thousand Secrets of Wise and Rich Men Revealed, C. A. Bogardus

Healing Salve

One lb. Lard, 1/2 lb. Resin, 1/2 lb. Sweet Elder bark. Simmer over a slow fire 4 hours, or until it forms a hard, brown salve. This is for the cure of cuts, bruises, boils, old sores and all like ailments. Spread on a cotton cloth and apply to the parts affected.

Source: One Thousand Secrets of Wise and Rich Men Revealed, C. A. Bogardus