Viper (Burges Collection of Materia Medica, late 1700s)

Vipers appear to have been one of the wonder drugs of the apothecary’s cabinet. Commonly used as a poison antidote or plague remedy, vipers were also praised for their abilities to cure scurvy, gout, rheumatism, measles, smallpox and fevers, and to purify the blood. The flesh, organs and fat were all used, but it was the salt distilled from boiled vipers that was particularly prized.

Pierre Pomet, A Compleat History of Druggs, 1712

Both for external and internal Uses, there is scarcely found a more universal Medicine.