Peachy keen

So what has De fructibus to say about one of the summer’s most popular fruits?  If you want to know how to use peaches in your beauty routine, look no further!

 

Folios 27v – 28r. Baptista Massa de Argenta, De fructibus virtutibus, Ferra, Italy. 1471. Call no. 10a 189.

 

Forget the witch hazel or chemical-y drugstore toner, peaches can be used to wipe off one’s make-up, according to De fructibus:

Refer to what Averroès himself said in the second [book of his] Colliget, that oil collected from the seed of a peach and [mixed with] water can be used by women to wash away the decoration [make-up] on their faces, and one peach is sufficient [for this use].

 

Finally, a use for peach pits.

 

*Disclaimer:  Although this probably won’t harm you, the Historical Medical Library recommends you don’t try this at home.