Herbs to Kill or Heal? Was this 17th Century Faux-Book for a Poisoner or Apothecary?

When photos of the faux-book first began to circulate online it was considered a hoax. The image was featured on the ArtefactPorn subreddit and commenters quickly denounced it as a fake, a mere cabinet of curiosities (as in not a disguised book), or a genuine artifact but one that was not as old as it claimed. All of these allegations were proven wrong. Popularly called the Assassin’s Cabinet of Poison, it was originally bound around the year 1600. The pages of the book were then glued together to form a large block. This was then hollowed out and 11 tiny drawers were installed inside as well as a little glass jar. Each drawer had a silver knob and a handwritten label of the lethal compound stored inside.

When the Faux-Book Came to Light

The faux-book came to light in 2008 when it was put up for auction by Hermann Historica, a popular German auction house. The item was listed as ‘poisoner’s cabinet,’ a title that quickly intrigued the press. The official description of the item as given in the auction catalog is as follows: