RE: Pottery, Clay and everything!

["Dennis R. Sherman" <sherman@trln.lib.unc.edu>]

Greetings in the Merry Rose from Robyyan.

Seanain asks:

> I was wondering if any one here could put me on the trail of a reference
> source that might have information on the Arabic/middle eastern/Persian
> distilling devise called an ilumbec or an alumbec.

Hugh Platt, _Delights for Ladies_, pub. about 1600 as far as I recall.
Available at UMD libraries (among others) in a facsimile edition in the
series Early English Texts.  I can't find my photocopy of the title page
right now to give you a better citation, but I'm sure you can find it in
the online catalog.  He's dealing primarily with distillation for scents,
but it may point you in the right direction.

> And finally , is there and one who has a really good period design for a 
> oil lamp.

Be more specific -- what part of period, and what culture?  Even what
materials do you have in mind to make it from?  The difference in design
between oil lamps from early Rome and those from Italy in the 16th
century is quite large.  And northern cultures (eg Vikings) didn't have
oil lamps, as such -- the oil didn't stay liquid.  They used grease or
fat lamps instead.

Sources available on request -- but copy me in email, not just to the
list.  I often don't get time to even look at all the subject headings,
much less read it all.
--
  Robyyan Torr d'Elandris  Kapellenberg, Windmaster's Hill  Atlantia
  Dennis R. Sherman  	         Triangle Research Libraries Network
  dennis_sherman@unc.edu       Univ. of North Carolina - Chapel Hill