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Recipe Settlement Books

UNESCO - MOWLAC, 2024
Country: Cuba
Registration Year: 2024
Institution type: Museum
ID: 249/2004
Institution:
Website(s):
Document type: Books Manuscripts
Document theme: Scientific

Related Documents

MoWLAC Nomination form / Formato de nominación

The Pharmaceutical Museum of Matanzas safeguards an original and complete French Pharmacy from the end of the 19th century. Its funds and collections have an exceptional character of extraordinary heritage value. Among them is the documentary collection Recipe Settlement Books, made up of 61 volumes, with more than half a million formulas prepared in the San Rafael Pharmacies (1873 - 1880), Nuestra Señora de Regla (1880 - 1883) and La Francesa (1882 - 1964) in Matanzas, Cuba.

The study of these books allows us to know: the origin, evolution and characteristics of Natural Medicine from other times, in addition to favoring its revitalization in our days, with the consultation of the funds by Laboratories of Natural and Traditional Medicine in our country.

The Recipe Settlement Books are an example of the origin of the Cuban pharmacy, resulting from the knowledge of its owners where the Spanish pharmacopoeia (Dr. Juan Fermín de Figueroa), French (Dr. Ernesto Triolet) and North American (Dr. María Dolores de Figueroa) converge, the first Cuban female pharmacist.

Information digitalized, thanks to a Collaboration Agreement established between the National Council of Cultural Heritage of Cuba and the T.R.E.E. of the Florida Keys in the United States of America."

Risks encountered

Environmental issues

Identified risksLevel of risk
Moisture
Moderate
Temperature
Moderate
Light (visible light, ultraviolet radiation, etc.)
Low
Dust
Low
Pollution
Low
Pests (rodents, animals, insects, etc.)
None
Microorganisms (bacteria, mould, etc.)
Low
The most important problems that affect the collection are the high temperatures in Paraguay, added to the humidity levels, which are generally common for much of the year.

Management or organizational issues

Identified risksLevel of risk
Lack of maintenance, including cleaning
Low
Inadequate building
Low
Building with structural damage
None
Lack of an adequate warehouse
Low
Lack of boxes and/or archive materials
Moderate
Lack of human resources
High
Lack of security measures
High
Insufficient budget to operate
None
The installation of a good fire prevention system is necessary. Although the collection has security measures in the sense of conservation and access, the National Archive does not have the proper risk prevention system.

Natural disaster risks

Identified risksLevel of risk
Fires
High
Rains
High
Mudslides or landslides
None
Floods
None
Hurricanes, cyclones, storms
Moderate
Earthquakes
None
Tsunamis
None
Volcanic eruptions
None
Temperature increase
Moderate
The instalation of a disaster prevention system is recommended.

Political and/or social risks

Identified risksLevel of risk
Armed conflicts
None
Illegal trafficking of documents
None
Thefts or robberies
Moderate
Vandalism
Moderate
Threatening socio-cultural environment
None
Lack of support/public policies
None
There are Defense Plans that conceive Armed conflicts and determine Evacuation plans to safeguard our resources. The National Archive building is located in the downtown area of the city of Asunción, very close to the areas of constant popular demonstrations, which makes it vulnerable to certain attacks of vandalism, although to date nothing similar has happened. As for thefts, some have occurred in the past, but control measures have been applied.

Environment (location) issues

Identified risksLevel of risk
Material/storage units
None
Furniture
None
Room or warehouse
None
Building
None
Site or neighbourhood
None
Area or region, beyond the neighbourhood
Moderate

Indicators

Identified risks
Management Plan
Partially

Documentation conservation plans are currently being developed and must be approved by experts.

Response Protocol
Partially
Documentary heritage digitization
No
Documentary heritage availability on the internet
No

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