No. 3 1

No. 3, Fall 2001

News and Notes from the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy

The American Institute of the History of Pharmacy is a uniqueorganization dedicated to the preservation of pharmacy’s heri-tage. The Apothecary’s Cabinet is a publication from AIHP thattakes a popular look at the history of pharmacy in its many fac-ets. We welcome your comments and submissions.

CabinetApothecary’s

Collecting Pharmaceutical Antiquesby Michael Harris and Charles Richardson*

*Excerpted from Historical Hobbies for the Pharma-cist, ed. Gregory J. Higby and Elaine C. Stroud (Madi-son: American Institute of the History of Pharmacy,1994).

Getting Started

Selecting parameters forcollecting [such as glassware,patent medicines, soda fountainitems, etc.] make a collectionmore manageable than collect-ing all categories, unless ofcourse the object is to recreate aperiod pharmacy setting.

Even with selected param-eters, collectors usually branchout and add a few other items tocomplement their collection.For example, advertising tradecards or medical almanacscould complement a collectionof pill-making devices. A mor-tar and pestle or show globe

Editor’s Note: With the increased interest in collecting pharmaceutical objects via the World Wide Web, wethought it would be worthwhile to revisit basic considerations when starting your historical collection. Thenext issue of Apothecary’s Cabinet will include an article on using the Web for collecting.

could complement any type ofpharmaceutical collection.

People who have limitedspace to display a collection canstill enjoy the hobby. A collectorhas many small items to selectfrom: medicine glasses, medi-cine spoons, powders, pillboxes, spatulas, patent medicinevials, pill finishers, pill

silverers, and many others.A collection can be based

on (a) a particular historical pe-riod, (b) artifacts made of a par-ticular material such as brass,(c) items from a specific local-ity, or (d) all the various ex-amples of an object such as allpill-coating devices.

After determining the type

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THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF THE HISTORY OF PHARMACY is incorporated under Wisconsin statute 180 as a non-profit organization de-voted to advancing knowledge and understanding of the place of pharmacy in history. It publishes Pharmacy in History, Apothecary’s Cabinet, occa-sional monographs, and pamphlets; it fosters humanistic teaching in pharmaceutical education; confers awards for outstanding achievement in its field;sponsors historical meetings and exhibits; collects and preserves source materials; and serves as a center for research and information.PUBLICATION PRICES: Apothecary’s Cabinet is distributed free of charge to schools of pharmacy upon request. This and other publications of theAIHP may be obtained through membership ($50 per year for individuals, $100 for institutions); individual copies of Apothecary’s Cabinet are $2.00.

Editor: Gregory J. HigbyAssistant Editor: Elaine Condouris StroudPublisher: American Institute of the History of Pharmacy, located at the University of Wisconsin

School of Pharmacy, Madison, Wisconsin 53705-2222 Phone (608) 262-5378, email AC@aihp.org; www.aihp.org.

Apothecary’s Cabinet • No. 3, Fall 2001 ISSN 1534-4509

of collection, how does the collector get started?Try to make as many contacts as possible withother collectors with similar interests. Peruse theclassified ads in collectors’ publications andcontact the collectors. Let them know you havesimilar interest, perhaps asking if they have du-plicate items for sale or trade. You may findsome who look upon you as competition and of-fer little assistance, but mostcollectors share information andwelcome contact with their fel-low collectors. Place your ownclassified ad in collectors’ pub-lications.

Auctions of pharmaceuti-cal collections take place infre-quently, perhaps only once ortwice a year, but they offer thebest opportunity to add to a col-lection. These auctions usuallyaccept absentee bidding througha catalog issued prior to theauction. The auctions are usu-ally advertised in all major an-tique publications.

Make contact with peoplein the pharmacies in your area, and let themknow you are a collector of pharmaceuticalitems. Have calling cards made and imprintedwith your collecting interest, and distribute themliberally. This will prove productive even thoughit might be months or years before you have the

first response from some of these contacts.Contact all of the antique shops and an-

tique malls in your area. Tell them of your inter-ests, and leave your calling card. Dealers dosave these cards and some also maintain theirown list of items wanted by local collectors.Most antique shops and practically all antiquemalls distribute free sample copies of collectors’

publications.One good source of phar-

maceutical antiques is dealerswho specialize in medical/phar-maceutical antiques by mail or-der. There are several suchdealers currently in businessand all of them publish cata-logs. Don’t overlook dealerswho only advertise “medicalantiques” or “scientific an-tiques”—these catalogs usuallyalso contain pharmaceuticalitems.

Flea markets are not agood source of pharmaceuticalcollectibles, however, one canoccasionally find patent medi-

cines, and domestic medicine items such as va-porizers, invalid feeders, and bedpans at fleamarkets.

After deciding on the type of pharmaceuti-cal antiques to collect and finding sources, youprobably will want to know how much the items

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you find are worth. The main factor in deter-mining value of a pharmacy antique is the con-dition of the item. There are other factors thatinfluence the value of an antique. Objects thathave the original container are worth more thanthe same item without its container. Items thatare identified by a maker’s name are generallyworth more than a similar item without thename. Markings such as patent dates and patentnumbers tend to increase the value of an object.Implements that still have the written direc-tions for use are more valuable than the sameitem without the directions. The presence of aproprietary tax stamp would increase the valueof a patent medicine. There are numerous otherfactors that influence the valueof a collectible that will be-come apparent to collectors asthey become more involved inthe hobby.

Price guides are available,and may accurately representmarket prices when published,but are soon obsolete. Visitingantique shops and antique

“Dos” and “Don’ts” for your Collection

below its center of gravity. Sup-port the artifact at all times.

DO NOT wash off originallabels or remove tags. They arean essential part of the speci-men.

DO read recommendedconservation texts to find thebest method of preservation orconservation. First try the proce-dures on a small part of the arti-fact, then wait a few days to seeif the process is compatible withthe specimen. DO wait until youhave satisfied yourself that youhave found the best conservationprocedure. A few extra weekswait will not alter the life of thespecimen.

DO act in such a way as toconsider that the artifact has tolast forever. It can and should.

DO be aware of the safetyconsideration in handling andstoring medicines and chemicals.

DO NOT touch brightly fin-ished metals with bare hands.Finger prints leave oils that willcorrode the surfaces of the metalleaving permanent proof of mis-handling. DO wear cloth gloveswhen handling all metal objects.

DO NOT use abrasives ofany kind on any specimen, nosandpaper or emery, no scouringpowder, no metal polish. They alldamage the original surface.

DO NOT use tape of anykind. The tape can remove thefinish or if left on for a period oftime could react with the artifactthereby destroying the surface.Cellophane and masking tape donot belong near a collection!

DO NOT refinish—try topreserve the original finish whenpossible. It maintains the integrityand historical importance of theartifact. Keep faith with the past.

DO NOT pick up an item byits handle or appendage. Lift it

shows and noting prices can be of assistance.Another way to keep abreast of prices is to sub-scribe to the catalogs distributed by mail orderdealers who specialize in medical/pharmaceuti-cal antiques. Priced auction catalogs are alsovery useful, but unless one has attended the auc-tion, the condition of items must be accepted asdescribed in the catalog.

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Cigarette Cardsby William H. Helfand

Cigarette cards, normally less than seven by four cm in size,were given as premiums with packages; they were widely col-lected from their inception in the United States in the 1870s. Hun-dreds of series were published on both sides of the Atlantic, themost popular subjects being royalty, women, sports heroes, mili-tary figures, history, politics, actors, and actresses. Other than sev-eral sets illustrating first aid measures, few have pharmaceutical ormedical interest.

In two different series, however, “Do You Know,” publishedby Wills Cigarettes around 1920, and “The Reason Why,” issuedby The Imperial Tobacco Company of Canada around 1925, cardsof show globes in pharmacy windows were used along with thequestion of why they were there. The Wills answer states that thebottles “owe their origin to the custom that prevailed in the days ofthe old alchemists and apothecaries. Many of these were quacksand frauds, who used to display a wonderful assortment of largeretorts, curiously shaped bottles, jars, etc., in order to impress theirimportance upon the ignorant customers.” The Imperial card, hori-

zontal in shape, comments on the colors in the showglobes, notingthe “the blue and red colors represent venous and arterial blood,and the exhibition of these colors was to let the public know thatthe person displaying these signs was capable of bloodletting,which was then considered a cure for almost every known dis-ease.” Both answers are wide of the mark, for colors could beother than red or blue, and the essential purpose of showglobeswas to act as symbols for the pharmacy in a period of less thanuniversal literacy.

Member News

George Zografi, EdwardKremers Professor at the Univer-sity of Wisconsin-Madison Schoolof Pharmacy, received the APhA2001 Ebert Prize for the best reportof original investigation of a me-dicinal substance published in theJournal of Pharmaceutical Sci-ences in the past year. He was se-nior author of the paper “The Rela-tionship between ‘BET’—and‘Free Volume’—Derived Param-eters for Water Vapor Absorptioninto Amorphous Solids.” The EbertPrize, established in 1873, is theoldest pharmacy award in theUnited States.

Joseph L. Fink, III, hasbeen appointed to serve as Parlia-mentarian for the APhA House ofDelegates.

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My grandfather was a pharmacist and ownerof a pharmacy in the Bronzeville area of Chi-cago around 1910. What kind of an educationwas required at that time? Where would hehave gone to school? Was he licensed, andwith whom?

In 1910 there were few educational re-quirements for pharmacists. At that time, NewYork was the only state requiring a diplomafrom a school of pharmacy. Instead, pharmacistsgenerally learned their trade through apprentice-ship. There were schools of pharmacy in Chi-cago and Madison, Wisconsin, and other nearbyareas. Formal schooling generally lasted twoyears and graduates re-ceived a Ph.G. degree(graduate in pharmacy).At the turn of the century,only a small minority ofpharmacists finished for-mal education. In order topractice, pharmacists gen-erally had to serve fouryears of apprenticeshipand pass an examinationadministered by a stateboard of pharmacy.

Students in the Pharmaceutical Laboratory at theChicago College of Pharmacy in the early twentiethcentury.

Alan J. Vogenberg testifiedin March at the PennsylvaniaHouse of Representatives Demo-cratic Policy Committee hearingon a bill on long-term care and therising cost of prescription medica-tions.

The Rutgers University Col-lege of Pharmacy, the Alpha ZetaChapter of Rho Chi, and AIHP an-

nounce the Thirteenth AnnualDavid L. Cowen Lecture in theHistory of Pharmacy. This yearslecture will be “That Amiable Sci-ence: A Brief History of AmericanMedical Botany,” by Michael A.Flannery, recipient of the Ameri-can Institute for the History ofPharmacy’s Edward KremersAward for his biography of JohnUri Lloyd. The lecture will be held

in Room 111 of the WilliamLevine Hall Pharmacy Building onthe Rutgers Busch Campus at 4:30p.m. on 23 October 2001. It isopen to the public and especiallythose particularly interested inpharmacy, history, or botany. A re-ception and dinner will follow thelecture. For more information ordinner reservations, contact MaryFrench (732) 445-2675 ext. 605.

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How do you make thecolored water used in showglobes?

As a service to their deal-ers and customers, the 1875Van Schaack, Stevenson &Reid catalog included recipesfor making the colored liquidfor window globes.

Sixty years later, pharma-cists still were interested in dis-playing the colored show-globes. In 1936 thePharmaceutical Recipe Book(prepared under the authorityof the American Pharmaceuti-cal Association) set aside threepages for “Colors for ShowGlobes.” Many of the recipesin this later book are the sameas those in the Van Schaackcatalog. One notable change inthe production of colors re-sulted from the introduction ofaniline dyes. The cochineal redin the Van Schaack catalog isreplaced by aniline colors.Cochineal is a dye producedfrom a scale insect, and was amajor dyestuff dating from pre-Hispanic Mexico until 1900

when it was replaced by syn-thetic and aniline dyes. Anilinecolors, however convenient,have a tendency to fade andneed to be tended to from timeto time. The interest in showglobe colors indicates a contin-ued concern with maintaining anaesthetic link to tradition, whileat the same time turning to thepractical side of chemistry.

Order your 2002 AIHPHistorical Calendar! Twelvenew views from pharmacy’spast, available in October: $4for AIHP members, $6 fornon-members. American In-stitute of the History of Phar-macy, 777 Highland Ave.,Madison, WI 53705.

No. 3 7

Emergence of American Pharmacy

IN the United States no single profession or oc-cupation has ever controlled the distribution ofdrugs and medicines. Just as today, shopkeepersin colonial times sold tonics and cough medi-cine. In the early nineteenth century, a wide va-riety of workers practiced pharmacy, that is, thecompounding of medicines from crude drugs oringredients. In order to make the following dis-cussion fairly clear, I will introduce the cast ofcharacters involved in pharmaceutical practice,before concentrating on changes that occurredin pharmacy.

In the antebellum period, American medi-cal care was in a state of disarray, with aplethora of poorly trained physicians (bothregular and irregular), itinerant doctors, travel-ing peddlers of drugs, and proprietors of drug-stores dispensing different levels of advice overthe counter. Moreover, domestic medicinetreated the vast majority of ailments in a nationpredominantly rural and generally skeptical ofthe value of physicians. This was especially truebefore widespread industrialization underminedthe self-reliance of most Americans. Aside fromthe sizable minority who advocated druglesstreatments such as dietary reform and hydro-therapy, most purveyors of health care relied onsome form of medicine. Because of this, drug-stores, either wholesale or retail, served as apoint of intersection for most Americans con-cerned with healing. The coincidental growth ofthe number of drugs available during the ante-bellum period also helped to stimulate the de-velopment of the American drug market.

Most of the botanical drugs used in theUnited States in the nineteenth century were notcultivated in significant quantities in North

America and had to be imported: asafetida fromIran, camphor from the East Indies, opium fromTurkey, and cinchona bark from South America.Most drugs came to the United States throughgeneral merchants rather than through specialtyhouses before the Civil War. Brokers would thensell the imported drugs to wholesalers for asmall commission. Only a few drug houses, likeSchieffelin Brothers of New York, employed for-eign buyers to ensure the quality of importeddrugs. Without this check, most drug wholesal-ers were forced to fight a continuing battle ofwits with clever brokers trying to palm off poorquality or adulterated drugs. This concern forquality stimulated many of the scientific andtechnological investigations of the antebellumperiod as well.

Physicians

In the antebellum period, chaos came to theprofession of medicine. The traditional practiceof medicine and its education and regulatorysystems were challenged by groups of alterna-tive healers, usually referred to as “sectarians”by historians. Some sectarian groups had originsin Europe (homeopaths) or others advocateddrugless therapies (hydropaths), but most werehomegrown healers convinced of the superiorityof herbal treatments over the mineral-laden ma-teria medica of regular physicians. In 1854 Will-iam Procter reflected on the history of this“American botanico-medical movement,” whichinfluenced the direction of pharmacy:

About forty years ago, Samuel Thomson, of New England, an energeticbut illiterate man, commenced the practice of that system of empiricismthat subsequently under the name of Thomsonianism was seized upon bythe popular mind, and for a time became the favorite practice of a numer-ous class of persons, especially among farmers, who, pleased with the ideaof being their own physicians, were not slow in patronizing a scheme that,without collegiate study, offer[ed] to give them the knowledge requisite for

by Gregory J. Higby*

*From Gregory J. Higby, In Service to American Pharmacy: The Professional Life ofWilliam Procter, Jr. (Tuscaloosa and London: The University of Alabama Press, 1992).

8 Apothecary’s Cabinet

medical practice. In the process of time the crude ideas of the founderwere more and more modified by his disciples . . . and some degree ofscience, both as regards botany and pharmacy, crept into their practice,which now included a numerous list of the plants indigenous to our coun-try. The advent from time to time of a regular physician among thembrought in an admixture of regular ideas; and at this time, quite a numer-ous body of men, principally in the West and North, are engaged in thepractice of a scheme of medicine and pharmacy which is known as “Eclec-ticism,” or “the Eclectic Practice of Medicine.”

In order to compete with regular physi-cians, sectarians banded together and convincedstate legislatures to repeal licensing laws. InJacksonian America, the idea that “every mancould be his own doctor” carried the day. Any-one with enough drive and courage could prac-tice as a physician. In eastern urban centers,bastions for orthodox medical practice and edu-cation, sectarians were in the minority. The en-thusiasm for indigenous drugs and over-blown claims of achievements in scientificpharmacy common among botanical sectarians,however, did influence the elite of pharmacy inthe East. Protective of their intellectual domain,they tested each new “discovery” of thebotanics, particularly those dealing with indig-enous drugs. They found most wanting, but incontrast to the elite of regular medicine, thesepharmacists did not reject the efforts ofbotanics out of hand.

Until the late nineteenth century, Americanphysicians, whether sectarian or regular, wereforced by circumstances and convention tocompound and dispense many of their own pre-scriptions. Pharmacists were common in citiesand towns, but not common in areas of sparsepopulation. At the beginning of the nineteenthcentury, a medical apprentice’s first introduc-tion to physick usually came in the compound-ing of his preceptor’s prescriptions. The acqui-sition of manual skills, such as thepharmaceutical and surgical arts, was a primeobjective of apprenticeship. As medical schooleducation displaced the apprenticeship systemduring the 1820s and 1830s, the pharmaceuticalknowledge of physicians began to decline, withphysicians relying more and more on apoth-ecaries and later on drug manufacturers.

Because most antebellum physicians prac-ticed far from any drugstore, the filling ofmedicine bags and chests was a major source of

business in the drug trade. Some jobbers andlarge retailers like the Parrish brothers of Phila-delphia specialized in their production. In thenineteenth century the offices of physicians con-tained a wide gamut of pharmaceutical furnish-ings, running from a shelf or two of standardpreparations to fully equipped shops. Early inthe century, when the apprenticeship system stillruled, the “pharmacy” was manned by a tyrophysician. Coming out of the tradition of theBritish apothecary shop, so-called doctor’sshops commonly provided pharmaceutical ser-vices in the late eighteenth and early nineteenthcenturies. Dr. John Morgan, the best-known ad-vocate of separating pharmacy and medicine inthe young republic, eventually returned to theshop himself to make ends meet.

As pharmacies became more common as partof a general trend toward specialty retail establish-ments, doctor’s shops declined in the first quarterof the nineteenth century. Yet, as young physicianspoured out of proprietary medical schools in thesecond quarter of the century to find urban areasfull of competitors, many resorted to openingshops. Because they appeared to charge only forthe medicine they prescribed and not for their ser-vices, these doctors were cursed by establishedphysicians and apothecaries alike.

Shop doctors tended to hire employeeapothecaries (usually called “drug clerks”) fortwo reasons. If they had missed out on much ofthe pharmaceutical training usually obtainedthrough a long medical apprenticeship, youngphysicians needed someone to compound pre-

McKesson & Robbins advertised this russet bridle leather saddlebag medicine case in their 1872 catalog.

No. 3 9

scriptions. Even if they had sufficient expertise,successful shop doctors sometimes hired a drugclerk to keep shop while they diagnosed andprescribed. If they succeeded to the point of hav-ing a full office-style practice, shop doctors of-ten sold off their businesses to their clerks,thereby stimulating the growth of the retail drugtrade. As proprietors, former drug clerks took onthe title of apothecary.

Although former clerks at doctor’s shopsadded to the number of practicing apothecaries,most had roots in drug wholesaling. In thebackrooms and cellars of drug warehousesyoung men learned pharmacy—“the art . . . ofpreparing, preserving, and compounding sub-stances . . . for the purposes of medicine.” Gen-erally speaking, there were relatively few spe-cialized retail establishments in the UnitedStates before 1815. Drugstores commonly com-bined a small retail business with a more sizablewholesale trade, but with separate departments:“the front part of the lower floor devoted to re-tail and prescription business, and the rear to thecounting-room and packing of goods for cityand country trade.” The upper floors served aswarehouses, with chemical work done in thebasement.

Apothecaries

Apothecaries had practiced in NorthAmerica since the early colonial days, butAmerican physicians in general did not viewtheir services as essential and distinct until theearly nineteenth century. Physicians or their ap-prentices compounded almost all prescriptionswith drugs purchased from wholesalers or fromthe small number of retail drug sellers (apoth-ecaries) who practiced in urban areas. A look atthe policies of early American hospitals illus-trates a shift in attitudes. The first hospitals ofthe young republic, for instance, employedmedical apprentices as staff apothecaries. ABrief Account of the New-York Hospital, pub-lished in 1804, for instance, states: “A houseSurgeon and Apothecary constantly reside in theHospital.—these offices are filled by the stu-dents of the Physicians and Surgeons belonging

to the Hospital, which affords an excellentschool for the young men appointed to thoseplaces.” The staff apothecary practiced bothpharmacy and medicine in a manner analogousto the British apothecary, going on rounds, treat-ing patients, and compounding prescriptions.

By 1811, however, the position of apoth-ecary at the hospital had changed. The personchosen was a full-time pharmaceutical practitio-ner, tested before hiring on his prowess as acompounder of medicines. Instead of being obli-gated to go on rounds, he was required to stay inhis “shop” (workroom) at all times. By 1819 theservices of the pharmaceutical apothecary hadbecome so essential that the hospital’s bylawsnot only required testimonials on an applicant’sbehalf, but also a $250 bond to ensure “faithfulperformance of the duties of his office, and thathe will not cease to perform the duties of this of-fice, without giving two months notice of his in-tention to leave his employment.”

Dispensaries followed a similar pattern, re-placing medical apprentices with full-timeapothecaries. By selecting responsible, matureindividuals as apothecaries, the directors of hos-pitals and dispensaries could obtain competentday-to-day management of their institutions.(The apothecary usually served in multiple ca-pacities, such as managing accounts and runningthe library.) More importantly for the buddingoccupation of pharmacy, full-time apothecariesprovided reliable pharmaceutical services andprobably encouraged prescription writing. Fromthe 1820s on, as more and more physiciansgained their clinical experience in hospitals anddispensaries instead of with preceptors, theylearned to write prescriptions, rather than tocompound them. After graduation some physi-cians continued to write out prescriptions,thereby stimulating the growth of pharmacy.

In the years before and after the War of1812 urban physicians came to depend more andmore on the expertise of apothecaries to ensurethe quality of drugs and medicines. Yet even themost common of preparations such as laudanumor tincture of digitalis were made in a wide vari-ety of ways, following recipes culled from Euro-pean reference books. The appearance of American

10 Apothecary’s Cabinet

books of drug standards, such as the Pharmaco-poeia of the Massachusetts Medical Society in1808 and the Pharmacopoeia of the United Statesof America (USP) in 1820, reflected both thisconcern and the increasing complexity of thedrug market. Prescribing physicians organizedtheir efforts to produce these guidebooks forapothecaries to ensure uniformity in the prepara-tion of medicines. The preface to the Massachu-setts Pharmacopoeia refers to “a perfect under-standing [that] should exist.”

After the War of 1812 urban physicianscontinued to dispense, but people began to takeadvantage of the slowly growing number of re-tail apothecaries. For example, the fee bill ap-proved by the New-York County Medical So-ciety in January 1816 contained a detailedsection of “Pharmaceutical Charges,” while inBoston, which had a more developed cadre ofapothecaries, the medical association omittedpharmaceutical charges from its fee bill. Thenumber of doctor’s shops, reflected in adver-tisements and city directories, was droppingoff rapidly. A small class of retail apothecariespresented no particular threat to urban physi-cians in the first decades of the nineteenth cen-tury and provided several conveniences.

What Is It?

See page 14 for the answer.

When examining the variety of practitionersinvolved in the production and sale of medicinesbefore the Civil War, one should remember howeasily occupations were exchanged as circum-stances warranted. For example, around 1805 anEnglishman named Constantine Adamson enteredan apothecary’s shop in London as an apprenticeat the rather late age of 20. After his apprentice-ship he went to Nova Scotia to make his fortune.Adamson could not get a business going and sub-sequently joined the provincial army in 1812. Af-ter the war with the United States, he entered theCanadian lumber trade, where he made and lost afortune in wood. Apparently to escape creditors,Adamson traveled to New York in 1817 and be-gan teaching school. His health failed and he wastreated by the physician-druggist Richard Seamanof the firm Walters and Seaman. Seaman’s busi-ness failed and he convinced Adamson to be hispartner in a new store. Adamson returned to thedrug trade after ten years and built a reputation asone of New York’s most honest and scientificdruggists. He died an 1846 at the age of 62. Hiscareer as apothecary, soldier, lumber baron,school teacher, and druggist was not viewed asunusual.

There is a long traditon of political cartoonists using pharma-cists and their products as props for their work. Here TeddyRoosevelt was shown “compounding” while Congress waits forthe remedy.

No. 3 11

The Drugstore and the Telephoneby David L. Cowen

“Telephone Free to the Pub-lic” would be a startling adver-tisement today, but in 1880-1881 those were the exactwords in the advertisement ofMarsh’s Pharmacy inNewark, New Jersey, and“the usual course pursuedby the retail pharmacist.”It was the corner store, es-pecially the drugstore, thatprovided access to thetelephone.

Free telephone ser-vice reflected the fact thatthe patron was most likelyto use it to call the doctor,but in 1914 pharmacistswere being urged “not tobe afraid to have the pa-tient pay his own tele-phone toll when callinghis physician.” Moreover, be-cause a prescription might even-tually not be forthcoming, thepharmacist began to expect thecaller to leave a coin. Needlessto say, he was often cheated.

Early in this century thepharmacist first exhorted thetelephone company to install“automatics,” pay-phones, andthen haggled over the commis-sions that were paid. This was aweighty consideration: in 1910the aggregate commissions to765 Philadelphia pharmacists

The telephone booth in the back ofthis Wrightsville, Georgia pharmacy

(c.1915) advertises both local andlong distance service . (Photo

courtesy Kremers Reference Files.)

were estimated at $25,000 ayear. If these figures are correct,they represent from 1 1/2 to 2million 5¢ calls.

There was another advan-

porter’s time was spent as atelephone messenger callingneighbors to the phone. His ideaof charging 5¢ if within oneblock and 10¢ if beyond,

seemed to take hold, but by1911 it was reported as nolonger workable.

Clearly the drugstore hasplayed a social role beyond itsinvolvement in the provision ofhealth care.

tage to the telephone booth thatbecame a fixture in every drug-store. A Chicago pharmacistwho deprecated profanity foundthat the sound-proof boothchanged the atmosphere of thedrugstore from one of “sulfu-rous invocations” to “the envi-ronment of . . . revival meet-ings.”

The drugstore telephonewas also a message center, usedby the neighborhood for incom-ing calls. In 1902 one pharma-cist complained that half of his

12 Apothecary’s Cabinet

COLLECTOR’S CORNER

FOR SALE: Great Mo-ments in Pharmacy prints (with de-scriptions). Parke-Davis, 1967,$40.00. Pharmacy: An Illustrated His-tory, Cowen and Helfand, $50.00.Contact Paul Wherry, 20 West NorthStreet, Worthington, OH 43085.

FOR SALE: Pharmacy MuseumMemorabilia, late 18th Centurythrough mid 20th Century. Includes20 gallon Red Wing crock used atStricker’s Drug Store (Latrobe, PA),soda fountain (David Stricker createdthe Banana Split), and a pestle used onthe Peary Expedition when the NorthPole was discovered. Elegant fixtures(1850) from a Scotland pharmacy.$95,000 or a reasonable offer. Willsell memorabilia and fixtures sepa-rately but memorabilia must go first.Jacob L. Grimm, 209 S. Market St.,Ligonier, PA 15658 (724) 238-6893; e-mail grimm209@helicon.net

FOR SALE: Paracelsus (1490-1541),The Hermetic and Alchemical(Works) Writings of Paracelsus, ed.Arthur Edward Waite (London: J.Elliott & Co., 1894). 2 vols. KathleenGrange (562) 424-0900.

WANTED: Surgical and medical an-tiques from the 18th and 19th Century.Also wanted: Surgical and medicalprints and books from the 18th and19th Century. Please call (515) 267-1821, fax (515) 267-9026, write AlanR. Koslow, 2716 Jordan Grove, WestDes Moines, IA 50265 or e-mailkoslow@home.com

FOR SALE: Own a piece of the fi-nancial history of the drug, chemical,pharmaceutical and health care com-panies. Stock/Bond certificates (can-celed) are both history and an artform.Most priced under $7.00 each. Send

FOR SALE: USPs, US Dispensato-ries, APhA Yearbooks, and numerousothers. Contact Halina Plonski, (503)670-1319.

* * * * *

The AIHP brings together those whowish to buy, sell, or trade artifactsor books related to the history ofpharmacy. Free classified advertis-ing is available to members ($5.00 aline to non-members). Send copy toApothecary’s Cabinet, AIHP, 425 N.Charter St., Madison, WI 53706, orNOTES@aihp.org.

SASE for list. Interested in buyingsimilar items. Wayne Segal, Box 181,Runnemede, NJ 08078. e-mailWaynePharm@aol.com

GOOD HEALTH TO ALL FROMREXALL! I collect anything madefor The Rexall Store. Especially wantearly consumer products and phar-macy items manufactured by theUnited Drug Company (1903-46, Bos-ton). Also Rexall AD-VANTAGESmagazines, calendars, almanacs, pho-tos, and other franchise and advertis-ing materials. United Drug brands:Puretest, Firstaid, Elkay, Kantleek,Jonteel, Liggett’s, Fenway, Harmony(cosmetics), Electrex (appliances), OldColony (inks), Klenzo, etc. Whathave you? Frank Sternad, P.O. Box560, Fulton, CA 95439; (707) 546-3106, e-mail fasternad@iscweb.com

WANTED: Apothecary jars, mortars& pestles and pharmacy memorabiliaincluding advertising cards, displays,cabinets, etc. Please call (602) 443-9358, fax (602) 443-0185 or write Ed-ward Saksenhaus, 8430 E. AppaloosaTr., Scottsdale, AZ 85258.

FOR SALE: Apothecary Antiques in-cluding drug jars, apothecary bottles,manufacturing tools, medical instru-ments including leech jar and variousdental items; books dealing with theabove subjects available, cataloguesissued. Always buying similar itemsor collections. John S. Gimesh, MD.,202 Stedman St., Fayetteville, NC28305; (910) 484-2219.

WANTED: Show globes, fancy apoth-ecary bottles, porcelain jars, trade catalogs,window pieces, patent medicines, and ad-vertising. Mart James, 487 Oakridge Rd.,Dyersburg, TN 38024; (901) 286-2025;e-mail: kjames@usit.net

WANTED: Books & journals on Phar-macy (pre-1920), Pharmacognosy,Herbal/Botanic Medicine, Eclectic &Thomsonian Medicine, Phytochemis-try, & Ethnobotany. I will purchaseone title or entire libraries. DavidWinston, Herbalist & AlchemistBooks, P.O. Box 553, Broadway, NJ08808, (908) 835-0822, fax: (908)835-0824, e-mail: dwherbal@nac.net

WANTED: Pharmacy antiques 1950sand before. Old medicine bottles Rxor OTC, tins, vials and related items.USP 1990 with NF. Contact Dr. EarlMindell (310) 550-0161 or fax (310)550-1150.

FOR SALE: E.R. Squibb antiquepharmaceutical medicine bottles, tins,vials, and related items. I haveapprox. 400 items (1900-1960). Alsohave antique clock, signs, and maga-zines. Would like to sell custom madeoak cabinet. Prefer to sell collectionas a whole. Call Dennis Bailey (847)451-0283.

No. 3 13

News & Notes

New UW Pharmacy Building

The dedication for the newUniversity of Wisconsin School ofPharmacy building is scheduledfor September 21, 2001. Rightnow boxes are still being un-packed, and places found for arti-facts new and old.

The first historical exhibit togo up in the school is the displayof Dutch drug jars commissionedby Edward Kremers in 1930 forthe School of Pharmacy. This maybe the only collection in the

United States of these practical andstylish drug jars. Paul Hobbel, whoproduced the set in his studio inLaren, Netherlands, was one of thefew potters in the Netherlands inthe period between the two worldwars with his own studio. Hesought to develop a design forapothecary jars that would be bothpractical and esthetically elegant.His designs, with simple lines andmonochromatic lettering, wereforerunners of the functional de-signs of the postwar period. As the

Get a Member—Get a Book

Get a new member to join theAIHP (including yourself)—usingthis coupon—and you will get a copyof the book: History of Drug Con-tainers and Their Labels, by GeorgeGriffenhagen, and Mary Bogard.Don’t forget to include your name onthe coupon. (New members get thebook too, using this coupon.)

AIHP unpacks more boxes of arti-facts, additional historical displayswill be prepared.

Please sign me up to be amember of the American In-stitute of the History of Phar-macy. I have included pay-ment to:American Institute of the Historyof Pharmacy777 Highland Ave.Madison, WI 53705-2222

__ $20 (student)

__ $50 (regular member)

__$100 (institution)

Send a copy of Drug Containers and Their Labels to me and to______________________________________ for helping me become a member of AIHP.

name

address

city state zip code

charge my credit card: ___ VISA ___ Mastercard

_____________________________________ exp. date _______________

__________________________________________________________signature

14 Apothecary’s Cabinet

What is it?

Drachms & ScruplesTerms according to the Encyclopedia of Pharmaceutical Technology, Dekker, 2001*

Pasta. Ointment-like mixtures of starch, dextrin, zinc oxide, sulfur, calcium car-bonate, or other medicinal substances made into a smooth paste with glycerin,soft soap, petrolatum, lard, or other fats, and medicated with antiseptic orastringent agents, designed for external use. Early pastes, such as PastaGlycyrrhizae and Pasta Althaeae, were internal preparations, most of whichwere of gum-like consistency. The modern external pastes were introduced bythe noted dermatologists Paul G. Unna and Oskar Lassar around 1900. Der-matologic Pastes normally contain a higher proportion of powdered materialthan that included in ointments and are less greasy but more absorptive thanother preparations for external application. Pastes entered the National For-mulary in 1906.

Elixirs. Sweetened, hydroalcoholic, flavored liquid medicines, which became popu-lar in mid-19th-century America. The word is derived apparently from theArabic al-iksir, which is an Arabic form of the Greek, xirion. Originally theterm meant “dry powder.” Elixirs came into medicine through their connec-tion with alchemy. Elixir Rubrum, one of the most renowned alchemical com-pounds, could supposedly turn mercury to gold or prolong life. The term waspicked up by followers of Paracelsus (1493–1541) and became applied toliquid preparations. European elixirs were generally bitter. One of the firstAmerican elixirs was Cordial Elixir of Quinine (ca. 1838), made by John T.Heinitsh of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. After the Civil War an “elixir craze”began, which led to scores of companies competing for business. As much asany other development, the “craze” led to the publication of the first NationalFormulary in 1888.

This is a set of auricles —small ear trumpets made to fitthe sides of the head and sup-ported by a band of metal. Au-ricles were more popular withwomen, who could cover them

possible troubles: “Those com-mencing the use of Aids toHearing, especially of Trumpetsor Auricles, frequently are dis-appointed at first trials, and willcomplain that sounds are con-fused, but after a short experi-ence the sounds are more natu-ral and the assistance derived isso highly valuable that the usercannot be prevailed upon to dis-pense with them.” The catalogwas less enthusiastic about au-ricles, saying that they were“not adapted to the uses of thosewho are more than moderatelydeaf.”

with long hair or headdresses.This illustration comes from the1896 edition of the wholesalecatalog of Peter Van Schaackand Sons of Chicago.

During the late 1800s,American pharmacies sold awide variety of surgical instru-ments, support garments, andother medical equipment. Forthose with hearing loss, eartrumpets offered some help be-fore the advent of modern, am-plified hearing aids. The VanSchaack catalog, while some-what enthusiastic, did warn po-tential sellers (pharmacists) of

Extracts. Pasty or semisolid masses ordry, solid, or powdered productsprepared by exhausting drugs withappropriate solvents, carefullyevaporating the products to fixedstandards. An extract is intended topreserve the useful constituents ofa drug in a concentrated, relativelyuniform, permanent condition, andin a form suitable for medication.The Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia(1817) and Dublin Pharmacopoeia(1826) distinguish between extractsprepared from infusions, decoc-tions, or tinctures, and those pre-pared from the expressed juices ofplants, calling the latter succispissati or inspissated juices. Threeforms of extracts are recognized:semiliquid or those of syrupy con-sistency; plastic masses known aspilular or solid extracts; and drypowders known as powdered ex-tracts.

[A few common words used uncommonly within the field of pharmacy.]

*Robert A. Buerki and Gregory J. Higby, “His-tory of Dosage Forms and Basic Preparations,”Encyclopedia of Pharmaceutical Technology,Dekker, 2001.

No. 3 15

100 Years Ago

75 Years Ago

50 Years Ago

25 Years Ago

EDITED BY GREG HIGBY

A Backward Glance atAmerican Pharmacy

“A big gray tomcat of unknown pedigree and ownership played the role of the bull in a china shop in theprescription department of Fred. A. Pollard’s drug store, at Monticello and Jewett avenues, Jersey City.Entering by a rear window it landed among a lot of bottles and scattered them over the floor. The cat at-tempted to make a hurried escape, but fell short of the window sill and toppled over a five-pound bottle ofhydrochloric acid, which dropped on a big bottle of ammonia water. The cat fell at the same time, and asthe bottle smashed on the tile floor it received a bath of acid and ammonia. The effect was galvanic. Thecat fairly sailed about the room, lighting for a second on a shelf, then sailing to the top of a case, and ev-ery time he took a flying leap a number of bottles crashed to the floor. In its wake it left a wreckage ofsmashed bottles of cologne, acids, tinctures, soda syrups, etc. After butting his head against the wall manytimes, and taking a score or more trips through the acid and ammonia, the cat succeeded in getting out ofthe window, and the last seen of the animal it was going down Jewett avenue like a miniature steam en-gine at full speed, leaving a trail of smoke and steam, and about three times the size of an ordinary cat.”(American Druggist, vol. 38 (May 27, 1901):. 309-310.)

“To mix a soda, draw one ounce of syrup into a six-ounce thin glass, and a little finely chopped ice—never large lumps—then fill glass with coarse stream of soda water. Hold glass close to draft arm outlet,and at such angle that water will strike side of glass. Stir with spoon until it foams, from four to eight vig-orous strokes are enough. Never put in water first, then syrup, and never add water after drink has beenstirred. Use a thin blown glass. No one likes to drink out of thick pressed glass. It is not pleasing to theeye, the touch nor the taste, and seriously affects the refrigeration of the drink. A drink served in a thickglass is two to six degrees warmer than in a thin glass. A slight saving in breakage is lost many times bycustomers who go where they may have a nice, thin, highly polished glass to drink from.” (American Drug-gist, vol 74 (June 1926): 31.)

“The federal government maintains an institution at Lexington, Ky., for the treatment of narcotics ad-dicts. In 1946 about three per cent of the admittances to that hospital were youths under 21 years of age.In 1950 addicts under 21 totaled 18 per cent of all admissions! The rate of admissions of youths to thefederal narcotics addiction hospital is now running more than 700 per year! Officials are asking formoney to make room for 800 patients more than the present capacity. The increase is expected to madeup almost entirely of teen-agers. Those are shocking disclosures. They present the picture of a moralproblem that is bound to have tremendous impact upon future generations. There is no indication that thedrugs which these teen-agers are using – principally marijuana, followed by heroin and cocaine – are be-ing obtained through legal drug channels. On the contrary, all indications are that their needs are suppliedby the illicit traffic. Nevertheless, the pharmacist has a very definite responsibility to help reverse thistrend in teen-age narcotic addiction. Small though it may be, his part is to take extraordinary precautionsto assure that narcotic prescriptions are genuine, that narcotic stocks are well protected from theft, topromptly report inquiries or sales that would lead to suspicion of narcotics use.” (Pacific Drug Review, vol.62 (May 1951): 10.)

In the nation’s first major immunization program—aimed at protecting every man, man, woman, andchild from the deadly swine influenza expected to hit the country this fall—what role will pharmacistsplay? It’s not clear yet. The task force at the Center for Disease Control, Atlanta, is working with variousgovernment agencies, pharmaceutical researchers and manufacturers and , in general, all vital health andprivate sectors of the country, to develop a mass-inoculation plan. According to Katherine Lord at CDC,“Since pharmacies are often focal points for local community activity, it’s entirely possible that we’ll bedependent on them for help in the successful implementation of the nationwide program. It’s just toosoon, though, to speculate on the degree of involvement.” Most likely pharmacists will play a part in thecommunity education effort—explaining the program’s rationale to patrons, reminding them to get theirinoculations, and referring them to designated distribution areas in their neighborhoods. (American Drug-gist, vol. 173 (May 1976): 54.)

16 Apothecary’s Cabinet

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDMadison, Wisconsin

Permit No. 881

from a unique agency of pharmacyThe American Institute of the History of Pharmacy

777 Highland Ave., Madison, WI 53705-2222

Titles and 200-word abstracts for 15-minute podium presentation must be receivedby October 1, 2001. No special abstract form is required. Send titles and abstracts toJulian Fincher, University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy, Columbia, SC 29208.For additional information call the AIHP office at 608-262-5378 or email:papers@aihp.org

Call for Papers

American Institute of the History of PharmacySection on Contributed Papersat the APhA Annual Meeting

March 15-19, 2002Philadelphia, PA

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