The Apothecary's Cabinet 16pp

16 Pages·2003·2.62 MB·English

Apothecary’s
Cabinet
No. 3, Fall 2001
News and Notes from the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy
Editor’s Note: With the increased interest in collecting pharmaceutical objects via the World Wide Web, we
thought it would be worthwhile to revisit basic considerations when starting your historical collection. The
next issue of Apothecary’s Cabinet will include an article on using the Web for collecting.
Collecting Pharmaceutical Antiques
by 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 could complement any type of silverers, and many others.
pharmaceutical collection. A collection can be based
Selecting parameters for
People who have limited on (a) a particular historical pe-
collecting [such as glassware,
space to display a collection can riod, (b) artifacts made of a par-
patent medicines, soda fountain
still enjoy the hobby. A collector ticular material such as brass,
items, etc.] make a collection
has many small items to select (c) items from a specific local-
more manageable than collect-
from: medicine glasses, medi- ity, or (d) all the various ex-
ing all categories, unless of
cine spoons, powders, pill amples of an object such as all
course the object is to recreate a
boxes, spatulas, patent medicine pill-coating devices.
period pharmacy setting.
vials, pill finishers, pill After determining the type
Even with selected param-
eters, collectors usually branch
out and add a few other items to
The American Institute of the History of Pharmacy is a unique
complement their collection.
organization dedicated to the preservation of pharmacy’s heri-
For example, advertising trade
tage. The Apothecary’s Cabinet is a publication from AIHP that
cards or medical almanacs
takes a popular look at the history of pharmacy in its many fac-
could complement a collection
ets. We welcome your comments and submissions.
of pill-making devices. A mor-
tar and pestle or show globe
No. 3 1
of collection, how does the collector get started? first response from some of these contacts.
Try to make as many contacts as possible with Contact all of the antique shops and an-
other collectors with similar interests. Peruse the tique malls in your area. Tell them of your inter-
classified ads in collectors’ publications and ests, and leave your calling card. Dealers do
contact the collectors. Let them know you have save these cards and some also maintain their
similar interest, perhaps asking if they have du- own list of items wanted by local collectors.
plicate items for sale or trade. You may find Most antique shops and practically all antique
some who look upon you as competition and of- malls distribute free sample copies of collectors’
fer little assistance, but most publications.
collectors share information and One good source of phar-
welcome contact with their fel- maceutical antiques is dealers
low collectors. Place your own who specialize in medical/phar-
classified ad in collectors’ pub- maceutical antiques by mail or-
lications. der. There are several such
Auctions of pharmaceuti- dealers currently in business
cal collections take place infre- and all of them publish cata-
quently, perhaps only once or logs. Don’t overlook dealers
twice a year, but they offer the who only advertise “medical
best opportunity to add to a col- antiques” or “scientific an-
lection. These auctions usually tiques”—these catalogs usually
accept absentee bidding through also contain pharmaceutical
a catalog issued prior to the items.
auction. The auctions are usu- Flea markets are not a
ally advertised in all major an- good source of pharmaceutical
tique publications. collectibles, however, one can
Make contact with people occasionally find patent medi-
in the pharmacies in your area, and let them cines, and domestic medicine items such as va-
know you are a collector of pharmaceutical porizers, invalid feeders, and bedpans at flea
items. Have calling cards made and imprinted markets.
with your collecting interest, and distribute them After deciding on the type of pharmaceuti-
liberally. This will prove productive even though cal antiques to collect and finding sources, you
it might be months or years before you have the probably will want to know how much the items
Apothecary’s Cabinet • No. 3, Fall 2001 ISSN 1534-4509
Editor: Gregory J. Higby
Assistant Editor: Elaine Condouris Stroud
Publisher: American Institute of the History of Pharmacy, located at the University of Wisconsin
School of Pharmacy, Madison, Wisconsin 53705-2222 Phone [phone], email [email protected]; www.aihp.org.
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 the
AIHP may be obtained through membership ($50 per year for individuals, $100 for institutions); individual copies of Apothecary’s Cabinet are $2.00.
2 Apothecary’s Cabinet
you find are worth. The main factor in deter- shows and noting prices can be of assistance.
mining value of a pharmacy antique is the con- Another way to keep abreast of prices is to sub-
dition of the item. There are other factors that scribe to the catalogs distributed by mail order
influence the value of an antique. Objects that dealers who specialize in medical/pharmaceuti-
have the original container are worth more than cal antiques. Priced auction catalogs are also
the same item without its container. Items that very useful, but unless one has attended the auc-
are identified by a maker’s name are generally tion, the condition of items must be accepted as
worth more than a similar item without the described in the catalog.
name. Markings such as patent dates and patent
numbers tend to increase the value of an object.
Implements that still have the written direc-
tions for use are more valuable than the same
item without the directions. The presence of a
proprietary tax stamp would increase the value
of a patent medicine. There are numerous other
factors that influence the value
of a collectible that will be-
come apparent to collectors as
“Dos” and “Don’ts” for your Collection
they become more involved in
the hobby.
Price guides are available,
DO NOT touch brightly fin- below its center of gravity. Sup-
and may accurately represent
ished metals with bare hands. port the artifact at all times.
market prices when published,
Finger prints leave oils that will DO NOT wash off original
but are soon obsolete. Visiting
corrode the surfaces of the metal labels or remove tags. They are
antique shops and antique
leaving permanent proof of mis- an essential part of the speci-
handling. DO wear cloth gloves men.
when handling all metal objects. DO read recommended
DO NOT use abrasives of conservation texts to find the
any kind on any specimen, no best method of preservation or
sandpaper or emery, no scouring conservation. First try the proce-
powder, no metal polish. They all dures on a small part of the arti-
damage the original surface. fact, then wait a few days to see
DO NOT use tape of any if the process is compatible with
kind. The tape can remove the the specimen. DO wait until you
finish or if left on for a period of have satisfied yourself that you
time could react with the artifact have found the best conservation
thereby destroying the surface. procedure. A few extra weeks
Cellophane and masking tape do wait will not alter the life of the
not belong near a collection! specimen.
DO NOT refinish—try to DO act in such a way as to
preserve the original finish when consider that the artifact has to
possible. It maintains the integrity last forever. It can and should.
and historical importance of the DO be aware of the safety
artifact. Keep faith with the past. consideration in handling and
DO NOT pick up an item by storing medicines and chemicals.
its handle or appendage. Lift it
No. 3 3
Cigarette Cards
by 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, the
most 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 or
medical interest.
In two different series, however, “Do You Know,” published
by Wills Cigarettes around 1920, and “The Reason Why,” issued
by The Imperial Tobacco Company of Canada around 1925, cards
of show globes in pharmacy windows were used along with the
question of why they were there. The Wills answer states that the
bottles “owe their origin to the custom that prevailed in the days of
the old alchemists and apothecaries. Many of these were quacks
and frauds, who used to display a wonderful assortment of large
retorts, curiously shaped bottles, jars, etc., in order to impress their
importance upon the ignorant customers.” The Imperial card, hori-
Member News
George Zografi, Edward
Kremers Professor at the Univer-
sity of Wisconsin-Madison School
of Pharmacy, received the APhA
2001 Ebert Prize for the best report
of original investigation of a me-
dicinal substance published in the
Journal 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-
zontal in shape, comments on the colors in the showglobes, noting
eters for Water Vapor Absorption
the “the blue and red colors represent venous and arterial blood,
into Amorphous Solids.” The Ebert
and the exhibition of these colors was to let the public know that Prize, established in 1873, is the
the person displaying these signs was capable of bloodletting, oldest pharmacy award in the
which was then considered a cure for almost every known dis- United States.
ease.” Both answers are wide of the mark, for colors could be
Joseph L. Fink, III, has
other than red or blue, and the essential purpose of showglobes
been appointed to serve as Parlia-
was to act as symbols for the pharmacy in a period of less than
mentarian for the APhA House of
universal literacy.
Delegates.
4 Apothecary’s Cabinet
Alan J. Vogenberg testified nounce the Thirteenth Annual in Room 111 of the William
in March at the Pennsylvania David L. Cowen Lecture in the Levine Hall Pharmacy Building on
House of Representatives Demo- History of Pharmacy. This years the Rutgers Busch Campus at 4:30
cratic Policy Committee hearing lecture will be “That Amiable Sci- p.m. on 23 October 2001. It is
on a bill on long-term care and the ence: A Brief History of American open to the public and especially
rising cost of prescription medica- Medical Botany,” by Michael A. those particularly interested in
tions. Flannery, recipient of the Ameri- pharmacy, history, or botany. A re-
can Institute for the History of ception and dinner will follow the
The Rutgers University Col- Pharmacy’s Edward Kremers lecture. For more information or
lege of Pharmacy, the Alpha Zeta Award for his biography of John dinner reservations, contact Mary
Chapter of Rho Chi, and AIHP an- Uri Lloyd. The lecture will be held French [phone] ext. 605.
My grandfather was a pharmacist and owner
of a pharmacy in the Bronzeville area of Chi-
cago around 1910. What kind of an education
was required at that time? Where would he
have gone to school? Was he licensed, and
with whom?
In 1910 there were few educational re-
quirements for pharmacists. At that time, New
York was the only state requiring a diploma
from a school of pharmacy. Instead, pharmacists
generally learned their trade through apprentice- Students in the Pharmaceutical Laboratory at the
Chicago College of Pharmacy in the early twentieth
ship. There were schools of pharmacy in Chi-
century.
cago and Madison, Wisconsin, and other nearby
areas. Formal schooling generally lasted two
years and graduates re-
ceived a Ph.G. degree
(graduate in pharmacy).
At the turn of the century,
only a small minority of
pharmacists finished for-
mal education. In order to
practice, pharmacists gen-
erally had to serve four
years of apprenticeship
and pass an examination
administered by a state
board of pharmacy.
No. 3 5
How do you make the
colored water used in show
globes?
As a service to their deal-
ers and customers, the 1875
Van Schaack, Stevenson &
Reid catalog included recipes
for making the colored liquid
for window globes.
Sixty years later, pharma-
cists still were interested in dis-
playing the colored show-
globes. In 1936 the
Pharmaceutical Recipe Book
(prepared under the authority
of the American Pharmaceuti-
cal Association) set aside three
pages for “Colors for Show
Globes.” Many of the recipes
in this later book are the same
as those in the Van Schaack when it was replaced by syn-
catalog. One notable change in thetic and aniline dyes. Aniline Order your 2002 AIHP
the production of colors re- colors, however convenient, Historical Calendar! Twelve
sulted from the introduction of have a tendency to fade and new views from pharmacy’s
aniline dyes. The cochineal red need to be tended to from time past, available in October: $4
in the Van Schaack catalog is to time. The interest in show for AIHP members, $6 for
replaced by aniline colors. globe colors indicates a contin- non-members. American In-
Cochineal is a dye produced ued concern with maintaining an stitute of the History of Phar-
from a scale insect, and was a aesthetic link to tradition, while macy, 777 Highland Ave.,
major dyestuff dating from pre- at the same time turning to the Madison, WI 53705.
Hispanic Mexico until 1900 practical side of chemistry.
6 Apothecary’s Cabinet
Emergence of American Pharmacy
by Gregory J. Higby*
I
N the United States no single profession or oc- America and had to be imported: asafetida from
cupation has ever controlled the distribution of Iran, camphor from the East Indies, opium from
drugs and medicines. Just as today, shopkeepers Turkey, and cinchona bark from South America.
in colonial times sold tonics and cough medi- Most drugs came to the United States through
cine. In the early nineteenth century, a wide va- general merchants rather than through specialty
riety of workers practiced pharmacy, that is, the houses before the Civil War. Brokers would then
compounding of medicines from crude drugs or sell the imported drugs to wholesalers for a
ingredients. In order to make the following dis- small commission. Only a few drug houses, like
cussion fairly clear, I will introduce the cast of Schieffelin Brothers of New York, employed for-
characters involved in pharmaceutical practice, eign buyers to ensure the quality of imported
before concentrating on changes that occurred drugs. Without this check, most drug wholesal-
in pharmacy. ers were forced to fight a continuing battle of
In the antebellum period, American medi- wits with clever brokers trying to palm off poor
cal care was in a state of disarray, with a quality or adulterated drugs. This concern for
plethora of poorly trained physicians (both quality stimulated many of the scientific and
regular and irregular), itinerant doctors, travel- technological investigations of the antebellum
ing peddlers of drugs, and proprietors of drug- period as well.
stores dispensing different levels of advice over
the counter. Moreover, domestic medicine
Physicians
treated the vast majority of ailments in a nation
In the antebellum period, chaos came to the
predominantly rural and generally skeptical of
profession of medicine. The traditional practice
the value of physicians. This was especially true
of medicine and its education and regulatory
before widespread industrialization undermined
systems were challenged by groups of alterna-
the self-reliance of most Americans. Aside from
tive healers, usually referred to as “sectarians”
the sizable minority who advocated drugless
by historians. Some sectarian groups had origins
treatments such as dietary reform and hydro-
in Europe (homeopaths) or others advocated
therapy, most purveyors of health care relied on
drugless therapies (hydropaths), but most were
some form of medicine. Because of this, drug-
homegrown healers convinced of the superiority
stores, either wholesale or retail, served as a
of herbal treatments over the mineral-laden ma-
point of intersection for most Americans con-
teria medica of regular physicians. In 1854 Will-
cerned with healing. The coincidental growth of
iam Procter reflected on the history of this
the number of drugs available during the ante-
“American botanico-medical movement,” which
bellum period also helped to stimulate the de-
influenced the direction of pharmacy:
velopment of the American drug market.
Most of the botanical drugs used in the
About forty years ago, Samuel Thomson, of New England, an energetic
United States in the nineteenth century were not
but illiterate man, commenced the practice of that system of empiricism
cultivated in significant quantities in North that subsequently under the name of Thomsonianism was seized upon by
the popular mind, and for a time became the favorite practice of a numer-
ous class of persons, especially among farmers, who, pleased with the idea
of being their own physicians, were not slow in patronizing a scheme that,
*From Gregory J. Higby, In Service to American Pharmacy: The Professional Life of
without collegiate study, offer[ed] to give them the knowledge requisite for
William Procter, Jr. (Tuscaloosa and London: The University of Alabama Press, 1992).
No. 3 7
medical practice. In the process of time the crude ideas of the founder
were more and more modified by his disciples . . . and some degree of
science, 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 them
brought 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 the
practice 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 convinced
state legislatures to repeal licensing laws. In
Jacksonian America, the idea that “every man
could be his own doctor” carried the day. Any-
one with enough drive and courage could prac- McKesson & Robbins advertised this russet bridle leather saddle
tice as a physician. In eastern urban centers, bag medicine case in their 1872 catalog.
bastions for orthodox medical practice and edu-
business in the drug trade. Some jobbers and
cation, sectarians were in the minority. The en-
large retailers like the Parrish brothers of Phila-
thusiasm for indigenous drugs and over-
delphia specialized in their production. In the
blown claims of achievements in scientific
nineteenth century the offices of physicians con-
pharmacy common among botanical sectarians,
tained a wide gamut of pharmaceutical furnish-
however, did influence the elite of pharmacy in
ings, running from a shelf or two of standard
the East. Protective of their intellectual domain,
preparations to fully equipped shops. Early in
they tested each new “discovery” of the
the century, when the apprenticeship system still
botanics, particularly those dealing with indig-
ruled, the “pharmacy” was manned by a tyro
enous drugs. They found most wanting, but in
physician. Coming out of the tradition of the
contrast to the elite of regular medicine, these
British apothecary shop, so-called doctor’s
pharmacists did not reject the efforts of
shops commonly provided pharmaceutical ser-
botanics out of hand.
vices in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth
Until the late nineteenth century, American
centuries. Dr. John Morgan, the best-known ad-
physicians, whether sectarian or regular, were
vocate of separating pharmacy and medicine in
forced by circumstances and convention to
the young republic, eventually returned to the
compound and dispense many of their own pre-
shop himself to make ends meet.
scriptions. Pharmacists were common in cities
As pharmacies became more common as part
and towns, but not common in areas of sparse
of a general trend toward specialty retail establish-
population. At the beginning of the nineteenth
ments, doctor’s shops declined in the first quarter
century, a medical apprentice’s first introduc-
of the nineteenth century. Yet, as young physicians
tion to physick usually came in the compound-
poured out of proprietary medical schools in the
ing of his preceptor’s prescriptions. The acqui-
second quarter of the century to find urban areas
sition of manual skills, such as the
full of competitors, many resorted to opening
pharmaceutical and surgical arts, was a prime
shops. Because they appeared to charge only for
objective of apprenticeship. As medical school
the medicine they prescribed and not for their ser-
education displaced the apprenticeship system
vices, these doctors were cursed by established
during the 1820s and 1830s, the pharmaceutical
physicians and apothecaries alike.
knowledge of physicians began to decline, with
Shop doctors tended to hire employee
physicians relying more and more on apoth-
apothecaries (usually called “drug clerks”) for
ecaries and later on drug manufacturers.
two reasons. If they had missed out on much of
Because most antebellum physicians prac-
the pharmaceutical training usually obtained
ticed far from any drugstore, the filling of
through a long medical apprenticeship, young
medicine bags and chests was a major source of
physicians needed someone to compound pre-
8 Apothecary’s Cabinet
scriptions. Even if they had sufficient expertise, to the Hospital, which affords an excellent
successful shop doctors sometimes hired a drug school for the young men appointed to those
clerk to keep shop while they diagnosed and places.” The staff apothecary practiced both
prescribed. If they succeeded to the point of hav- pharmacy and medicine in a manner analogous
ing a full office-style practice, shop doctors of- to the British apothecary, going on rounds, treat-
ten sold off their businesses to their clerks, ing patients, and compounding prescriptions.
thereby stimulating the growth of the retail drug By 1811, however, the position of apoth-
trade. As proprietors, former drug clerks took on ecary at the hospital had changed. The person
the title of apothecary. chosen was a full-time pharmaceutical practitio-
Although former clerks at doctor’s shops ner, tested before hiring on his prowess as a
added to the number of practicing apothecaries, compounder of medicines. Instead of being obli-
most had roots in drug wholesaling. In the gated to go on rounds, he was required to stay in
backrooms and cellars of drug warehouses his “shop” (workroom) at all times. By 1819 the
young men learned pharmacy—“the art . . . of services of the pharmaceutical apothecary had
preparing, preserving, and compounding sub- become so essential that the hospital’s bylaws
stances . . . for the purposes of medicine.” Gen- not only required testimonials on an applicant’s
erally speaking, there were relatively few spe- behalf, but also a $250 bond to ensure “faithful
cialized retail establishments in the United performance of the duties of his office, and that
States before 1815. Drugstores commonly com- he will not cease to perform the duties of this of-
bined a small retail business with a more sizable fice, without giving two months notice of his in-
wholesale trade, but with separate departments: tention to leave his employment.”
“the front part of the lower floor devoted to re- Dispensaries followed a similar pattern, re-
tail and prescription business, and the rear to the placing medical apprentices with full-time
counting-room and packing of goods for city apothecaries. By selecting responsible, mature
and country trade.” The upper floors served as individuals as apothecaries, the directors of hos-
warehouses, with chemical work done in the pitals and dispensaries could obtain competent
basement. day-to-day management of their institutions.
(The apothecary usually served in multiple ca-
Apothecaries pacities, such as managing accounts and running
the library.) More importantly for the budding
Apothecaries had practiced in North
occupation of pharmacy, full-time apothecaries
America since the early colonial days, but
provided reliable pharmaceutical services and
American physicians in general did not view
probably encouraged prescription writing. From
their services as essential and distinct until the
the 1820s on, as more and more physicians
early nineteenth century. Physicians or their ap-
gained their clinical experience in hospitals and
prentices compounded almost all prescriptions
dispensaries instead of with preceptors, they
with drugs purchased from wholesalers or from
learned to write prescriptions, rather than to
the small number of retail drug sellers (apoth-
compound them. After graduation some physi-
ecaries) who practiced in urban areas. A look at
cians continued to write out prescriptions,
the policies of early American hospitals illus-
thereby stimulating the growth of pharmacy.
trates a shift in attitudes. The first hospitals of
In the years before and after the War of
the young republic, for instance, employed
1812 urban physicians came to depend more and
medical apprentices as staff apothecaries. A
more on the expertise of apothecaries to ensure
Brief Account of the New-York Hospital, pub-
the quality of drugs and medicines. Yet even the
lished in 1804, for instance, states: “A house
most common of preparations such as laudanum
Surgeon and Apothecary constantly reside in the
or tincture of digitalis were made in a wide vari-
Hospital.—these offices are filled by the stu-
ety of ways, following recipes culled from Euro-
dents of the Physicians and Surgeons belonging
pean reference books. The appearance of American
No. 3 9
books of drug standards, such as the Pharmaco- When examining the variety of practitioners
poeia of the Massachusetts Medical Society in involved in the production and sale of medicines
1808 and the Pharmacopoeia of the United States before the Civil War, one should remember how
of America (USP) in 1820, reflected both this easily occupations were exchanged as circum-
concern and the increasing complexity of the stances warranted. For example, around 1805 an
drug market. Prescribing physicians organized Englishman named Constantine Adamson entered
their efforts to produce these guidebooks for an apothecary’s shop in London as an apprentice
apothecaries to ensure uniformity in the prepara- at the rather late age of 20. After his apprentice-
tion of medicines. The preface to the Massachu- ship he went to Nova Scotia to make his fortune.
setts Pharmacopoeia refers to “a perfect under- Adamson could not get a business going and sub-
standing [that] should exist.” sequently joined the provincial army in 1812. Af-
After the War of 1812 urban physicians ter the war with the United States, he entered the
continued to dispense, but people began to take Canadian lumber trade, where he made and lost a
advantage of the slowly growing number of re- fortune in wood. Apparently to escape creditors,
tail apothecaries. For example, the fee bill ap- Adamson traveled to New York in 1817 and be-
proved by the New-York County Medical So- gan teaching school. His health failed and he was
ciety in January 1816 contained a detailed treated by the physician-druggist Richard Seaman
section of “Pharmaceutical Charges,” while in of the firm Walters and Seaman. Seaman’s busi-
Boston, which had a more developed cadre of ness failed and he convinced Adamson to be his
apothecaries, the medical association omitted partner in a new store. Adamson returned to the
pharmaceutical charges from its fee bill. The drug trade after ten years and built a reputation as
number of doctor’s shops, reflected in adver- one of New York’s most honest and scientific
tisements and city directories, was dropping druggists. He died an 1846 at the age of 62. His
off rapidly. A small class of retail apothecaries career as apothecary, soldier, lumber baron,
presented no particular threat to urban physi- school teacher, and druggist was not viewed as
cians in the first decades of the nineteenth cen- unusual.
tury and provided several conveniences.
What Is It?
There is a long traditon of political cartoonists using pharma-
cists and their products as props for their work. Here Teddy
Roosevelt was shown “compounding” while Congress waits for See page 14 for the answer.
the remedy.
10 Apothecary’s Cabinet