Discovering pharmacy history - Royal Pharmaceutical Society

Transcription

Discovering pharmacy history - Royal Pharmaceutical Society
The Museum
Discovering pharmacy history
Welcome to the Museum’s guide to researching British pharmacy history
Are you new to research in this area?
Or are you starting a new research topic?
Perhaps you‟re tracing an individual pharmacist, or investigating
medicines used to treat a disease over a number of centuries.
Whatever your research interest, the aim of this guide is to support you
by providing signposts to both the resources available and how to
approach them to answer your enquiries.
You can use this guide in two ways:
1. following questions to find out where to get started
2. exploring different types of sources and evidence to find out
more.
If the information here doesn‟t answer your questions, please don‟t
hesitate to contact the Museum team who will do their best to point you
in the right direction, details below:
E-mail: [email protected]
T: 020 7572 2210
Click here for the Museum‟s general booklist on British pharmacy history and objects.
Complete beginner?
Click here for some suggested ways to get started in British pharmacy history
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Contents
Getting started in pharmacy history
4
Next steps in researching pharmacy history
5
Research questions:
How do I find out more about pharmacists?
6
How do I find out more about medicines?
7
How do I find out more about treating diseases?
9
How do I find out more about pharmacy practice?
10
How do I find out more about pharmacy manufacturers?
11
How do I find out more about pharmacy premises?
12
How do I find out more about pharmacy objects?
13
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Research resources:
How do I go about finding relevant publications?
15
How do I go about finding relevant manuscript material?
16
How do I go about finding relevant business & organisational records?
17
How do I go about finding relevant objects?
18
How do I go about finding relevant ephemera?
20
How do I go about finding relevant oral history?
21
How do I go about finding relevant images?
22
How do I go about finding relevant pharmacy membership records?
23
How do I go about finding relevant Acts of Parliament?
24
Information sheet: Pharmacy legislation
25
How do I go about finding relevant buildings?
28
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Useful links
29
Booklists:
General pharmacy history and pharmacy equipment
30
Pharmacy collections and drug identification
33
Acknowledgements
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Getting started in pharmacy history
If you‟ve never investigated pharmacy history before, the prospect may seem daunting. Don‟t worry,
there are plenty of ways to get help.
Perhaps you‟d like some ideas about projects that you could get stuck into to get started.
Don‟t forget to use the rest of this resource to explore some of the resources available.
10 possible projects:
1. Interview 5 retired pharmacists
2. Interview 5 older people about their memories of visits to the
chemist
3. Interview 5 older people about their memories of old
remedies
4. Explore the records of a local hospital
5. Explore prescription books from a local pharmacy or hospital
dispensary
6. Investigate old photographs of a pharmacy to identify clues
about practice and products
7. Investigate the account books from a local pharmacy
8. Find a piece of pharmacy equipment (or an image of one)
and trace its origin
9. Identify changes over time in the ingredients of a proprietary
medicine
10. Identify 10 products that have been withdrawn from the
market and find out why
If you‟ve already got an idea for a project, but aren‟t sure where to start, you might want to consider
the following questions:
• what geographical area am I going to investigate? (Great Britain, Scotland, Yorkshire, Plymouth)
• what time period am I interested in? (a century, a decade, a particular year)
• what are the secondary sources that can help me? (published books and journals, online resources,
bibliographies)
• what primary sources might be available? (investigate our research resources section to find out
more)
• who might be able to help me out?
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Next steps in researching pharmacy history
Your research may simply be for your own interest, or it may be for a school or university project. In
this case you may need to write it up in a certain way, and you may even wish to consider publishing
it. There are many websites which will help you to take these next steps, and we list a few of them
here.
For a simple guide to The Seven Steps of the Research Process see the Cornell University
website.
You may need to include references from a much broader literature. For doing searches on
the internet try the Berkeley University or Tilburg University website.
Once you have found relevant references you will need to cite them appropriately. For citing
references try Bournemouth University website.
For general report writing skills there is the Open University's Open Learn website.
For specific guidance on Writing and Presenting Your Thesis or Dissertation, click here
For a quick guide to instructions for authors, click here
Thinking of publishing your research?
If you are considering publishing your research a wide range of magazines and journals are
potentially interested in articles or papers on the history of pharmacy and medicines. These include:
Popular history magazines:
History Today
BBC History
Journals in the history of pharmacy:
Pharmaceutical Historian
Pharmacy in History
Journals in the history of medicine:
Medical History
Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences
Social History of Medicine
Bulletin of the History of Medicine
Others:
Oral History
British Journal for the History of Science
AMBIX (Journal for the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry)
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Research questions:
How do I find out more about pharmacists?
From the foundation of the Pharmaceutical Society in 1841 until the present day, pharmacists have
joined the organisation. Between 1841 and 1868, membership was voluntary, but from 1869 onwards
pharmacists had to register with the Society.
The resulting membership lists and Registers enable us to
provide career histories for pharmacists. To find out more
about our People and Premises Research Service, click
here.
Before 1841, a pharmacist was not required to take
examinations or register themselves with any organisation.
They simply learned their trade through a period of
apprenticeship in a pharmacy business.
If the person that you are interested in called themselves an
“apothecary” it may be worth contacting the Worshipful
Society of Apothecaries to check their records. The term
apothecary, often used between the 1600s and 1800s, does
not refer to the chemist and druggist. It was used for
individuals living in London who had passed the
examinations of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of
London, founded in 1617, or to their often less well qualified
counterparts in the provinces.
Further information about individuals can be obtained from
various local history sources:
Trade directories, beginning in the mid 18th century for large towns and the early 19th century
for the counties, listed local business people and were published at regular intervals, so an
individual can sometimes be traced using them.
Local newspapers often carried obituaries and death notices of notable locals, including
traders.
Census returns, taken every ten years between 1841 and 1901 inclusive (none currently
available for public consultation after this date) can provide information about pharmacists and
their families.
These local history sources can be consulted at relevant local history libraries. Details should be
obtainable from your local public library. Census returns can also be viewed at the National Archives.
In addition to the material available in local history sources, Kelly's Directory of Chemists and
Druggists was published at three to four year intervals from 1869 to 1918. In 1919 the name of the
publication changed to Kelly's Directory of the Chemical Industries. Publication ceased in 1938.
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Research questions:
How do I find out more about medicines?
Medicinal substances come in all shapes and sizes. For more recent medicines, there is a great deal
of information provided within its packaging – active ingredients, directions for use, possible side
effects, expiry date and manufacturer. However, many historical medicines do not include these
details, and so it is necessary to use other sources to investigate them further.
Pharmacopoeias, formularies and
codexes
These reference books provide information
about pharmaceutical recipes and medicinal
substances. Some are also useful for the
translation into English of Latin terms.
The first pharmacopoeia printed in England
was the London Pharmacopoeia which was
first produced in 1618.
Martindale: The Complete Drug Reference ,
originally known as The Extra
Pharmacopoeia, is an extremely useful
source for investigating medicinal
ingredients, proprietary medicines and
treatments for diseases. The first edition of the book was published in 1883. The “Extra” in the title
referred to the book‟s coverage of drugs that were outside the existing British Pharmacopoeia. The
book retains its place as a central reference work for pharmacists, still compiled and published by the
Society today. And is available online, click here.
Out of print works, and past editions of those still current, may only be available in specialist libraries.
Herbal medicines
Plant-based remedies are described in numerous herbals and manuscripts, and from the 1600s,
pharmacopoeias and formularies. Current books on herbal medicines often refer to both historical or
traditional uses as well as providing modern details. The Society‟s collection of more than 10,000
materia medica (raw drugs) specimens from the 1800s is now held at the Economic Botany
Collection of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Proprietary medicines
This term literally means a medicine which is “owned.” Other terms used include „quack medicines‟,
„nostrums‟, brand-named and trademarked medicines. These all vary in their definition. „Quack‟
suggests that the ingredients may be worthless, or that the seller did not have honorable intentions.
Patent medicines had to have their formula registered, as opposed to the numerous „secret
remedies.‟
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Dating medicines, and information about the history and constituents
of the products can be found from a number of sources, both
pharmacy reference works and those looking at the history of
pharmacy / medicine. It is often difficult to find information about some of the more obscure products,
and local sources can sometimes help if a particular product didn‟t become nationally known.
Catalogues
Wholesale medicinal suppliers‟ catalogues are a very useful source for tracing products. Annual
catalogues for suppliers such as Sangers or yearbooks/diaries/pricelists published by The Chemist
and Druggist provide information including details of price, the available range of products, and you
can often track through to get a date range for when a particular remedy was on sale.
Pharmacy practice textbooks
Many manuals of pharmacy practice were published from the second half of the 19th century
onwards. They can provide useful information about how methods for making medical preparations;
for example pill making. Some have clear line drawings showing how dispensing equipment was
used. Many also include sections on pharmaceutical weights and measures, and prescription layout
and abbreviations.
Click here for the Museum‟s booklist on identifying medicines.
If you are investigating examples of bottles, jars and packaging themselves, you might also be
interested in the objects page.
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Research questions:
How do I find out more about treating diseases?
Finding out how different diseases have been treated over time often requires research over several
sources. Early publications such as herbals and dispensatories, as well as pharmacopoeia can
include indexes that list diseases, although you may need to be aware of historical names for current
conditions. Medical dictionaries from previous eras should help to provide information about the
contemporary understanding of diseases and the terms used.
Later books provide more detailed disease
indexes such as Martindale: The Extra
Pharmacopoeia which had a “Therapeutic index
of diseases” from its 8th edition in 1895.
Another excellent source is medicine chest
companions, written for the lay user of
medicines in the 1700s and 1800s. The most
popular at the time included Dr Buchan‟s
Domestic Medicine and E. Cox‟s Companion to
the Medical Chest. Both published and
unpublished housewives‟ companions and
recipe (or receipt) books also contain medicinal
recipes and advice alongside culinary recipes.
It is also possible to find out more from social
history accounts of people‟s experiences,
whether oral histories, published diaries or
(auto)biographies.
The Museum‟s Developing Treatments
webpage, links to illustrated information sheets
that explore how different diseases and
conditions have been treated over time.
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Research questions:
How do I find out more about pharmacy practice?
Finding out how pharmacists and their predecessors practised in the past can be divided into 2
aspects; what official sources told them to do, and what actually happened.
The first can be investigated through a range of
sources dependent on the historical period:
• codes of ethics
• textbooks
• legislation
• government reports
• practice guidance
The second relies on more personal resources:
• oral histories
• published diaries
• (auto)biographies
• photographs
• other images
Don‟t forget that pharmacists have worked in a range of settings – community, hospital, industry, the
military, prisons, wholesale, academia, and in research.
Satirical work can also shed light on what pharmacists got up to, whether cartoons or written sources
including poems and verses.
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Research questions:
How do I find out more about pharmacy manufacturers?
Finding out more about the companies that made medicines can often be closely linked to
investigating the medicines themselves. Some companies that have long histories may have
collections of their own business records. Others may have deposited them with a local records
office.
Other useful sources include local
trade directories and The Chemist
and Druggist Yearbook (and its
annual list of advertisers).
An excellent secondary source
should help you to track down
primary records for many pharmacy
manufacturers:
Richmond, L, Stevenson, J & Turton,
A ed, The Pharmaceutical Industry. A
Guide to Historical Records,
Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Ltd,
2003
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Research questions:
How do I find out more about pharmacy premises?
Pharmacy premises were required to be registered with the Pharmaceutical Society from 1936. the
Society‟s Register of Premises lists premises and their addresses alphabetically according to place,
and is organised by counties broken down into towns and cities. The 1936 Register is arranged by
place and then by proprietor's name, but from 1938 onwards entries are made for both the
proprietor's and trading name if these are different.
Tracing premises prior to 1936 through
the Society's records can be difficult.
Local lists of pharmacists supplementing
the Register of Pharmaceutical Chemists
and Chemists & Druggists, organised by
place and giving names only, were
published in 1935. Before this, the
Register of Pharmaceutical Chemists
and Chemists & Druggists listed either
the home or premises addresses of
pharmacists, so is of limited use in this
respect. Although the Society does have
information about some larger firms and
their premises, coverage of premises
history in general is limited. Click here to
find out more about our People and
Premises Research Service.
Information about premises can often be obtained from trade directories, many of which give trader's
addresses. Information can also be gleaned from census returns. Additionally, some pharmacies still
trading today may have their own premises records, or they may be available through local records
offices.
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Research questions:
How do I find out more about pharmacy objects?
The range of items used and products made by pharmacists is enormous. Even with a collection
numbering around 45,000 objects, the Museum team is still sometimes stumped by a “mystery
object” that is presented to us. However, there are a number of sources that we turn to in order to
track down information about the three-dimensional history of pharmacy:
The Museum collection
If you‟re trying to identify the use of an object,
want to translate a pharmaceutical Latin label or
want some guidance on an item‟s possible date, it
may be that we can help with reference to the
Museum‟s huge collections. With so many items
to draw on, it‟s likely that we‟ve seen something
similar before. Ideally we require an image of any
item that you‟re trying to research which you can
send in digitally by e-mail. Contact the Museum
We have used our collections as the basis for a
series of information sheets titled Objects in the
history of pharmacy which may help you out. Click
here to transfer to our information sheets page.
Trade catalogues
One of the sources that we turn to repeatedly is
trade catalogues, particularly those of S.Maw and
Sons which were a significant supplier of
pharmacy equipment, storage and furniture, and
Sanger who sold medicines as well.
Pharmacy practice textbooks
Many manuals of pharmacy practice were published from the second half of the 19th century
onwards. They can provide useful information about how methods for making medical preparations;
for example pill making. Some have good line drawings showing how dispensing equipment was
used. Many also include sections on pharmaceutical weights and measures, and prescription layout
and abbreviation.
Ask a pharmacist!
Practising pharmacists, especially those with some years of experience, may be able to help to
identify an object from their own practice. Alternatively, a retired pharmacist may be able to advise. If
in doubt, get in touch with the Museum team and we‟ll see what we can do.
Is the object pharmacy-related?
It may be that the object you‟re investigating is medical, but not related to pharmacy. There are 24
medical museums in London, and more across the country, who may be able to help with items
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connected with nursing, surgery, optometry, dentistry and many other medical specialisms. Click here
for a list of museums that hold pharmacy collections.
Click here to transfer to London Museums of Health and Medicine website
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Research resources:
How do I go about finding relevant publications?
Unsurprisingly, there is a wealth of published material covering pharmacy topics, past and present.
The Museum‟s general booklist on pharmacy history is available here, but if you have a more
specialist request, get in touch and we can supply booklists or suggestions on many other topics.
The range of published material available includes:
• Textbooks, including those for students e.g.
dispensing, pharmaceutical Latin
• standard texts for practising pharmacists
e.g. Martindale: The Extra Pharmacopoeia
• dispensatories
• herbals
• pharmacopoeia
• monographs on particular medicines
• monographs on particular diseases
• accounts of a pharmacist‟s experiences
• information about pharmacy objects and
antiques
• codes of ethics
• legislation
• government reports
• practice guidance
• trade catalogues
• journals
The Library at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
has a large collection of pharmacy publications,
and also provides advice on electronic resources,
particularly relating to current and more recent
pharmacy practice. Click here for the Library
homepage.
The biggest specialist library in Britain covering the history of medicine is the Wellcome Library. Click
here to transfer to their website and online catalogue.
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Research resources:
How do I go about finding relevant manuscript material?
As pharmacists have gone about their work, they have created reams of written material which
provides valuable historical evidence for pharmacy historians. These sources include:
• prescription books
• receipt/recipe books
• poisons registers
• business records including dispensary records and financial records
• diaries
Don‟t forget that pharmacists have worked in a range of
settings – community, hospital, industry, the military, prisons
and in research.
We hold a small collection of this kind of manuscript material
at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. The collection also
includes the corporate records for the Pharmaceutical
Society itself with minutes books for its Council and
Committees dating back to its foundation in 1841. Click here
to email the Museum to find out more.
The biggest specialist library on the history of medicine is
the Wellcome Library. Click here to transfer to their website
and online catalogue.
Local records offices will be a logical place to search. You
can find the contact details for records offices in England
through the government website, and search their holdings
through Access to Archives.
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Research resources:
How do I go about finding relevant business and
organisational records?
Records created by pharmacy business, departments and organisations provides lots of historical
evidence for pharmacy historians. These sources include:
• prescription books
• receipt/recipe books
• dispensary records
• financial records and cash books
• poisons registers
• minute books
Don‟t forget that pharmacists have
worked in a range of settings –
community, hospital, industry, the
military, prisons and in research.
We hold a small collection of this kind of
manuscript material at the Royal
Pharmaceutical Society. The collection
also includes the corporate records for
the Pharmaceutical Society itself with
minutes books for its Council and
Committees dating back to its
foundation in 1841. Click here to email
the Museum to find out more.
The biggest specialist library on the
history of medicine is the Wellcome
Library. Click here to transfer to their
website and online catalogue.
Often the records office that is closest to the location where the material was created will be a logical
place to search. To find the contact details for records offices through the government website, click
here.
An excellent secondary source should help you to track down primary records for many pharmacy
manufacturers:
Richmond, L, Stevenson, J & Turton, A ed, The Pharmaceutical Industry. A Guide to Historical
Records, Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Ltd, 2003
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Research resources:
How do I go about finding relevant objects?
The range of items used and made by pharmacists is enormous. The Museum of the Royal
Pharmaceutical Society is the only collection devoted to British pharmacy history, with a collection
numbering around 45,000 objects.
The Museum collection
Only a small proportion of our
collections can be displayed at
any one time. Researchers are
very welcome to make an
appointment to see any
objects in the Museum's
collections. Please note that
the majority of our collections
are stored off-site, and so we
would appreciate as much
notice as possible in order to
make the necessary
arrangements to make the
items accessible.
We have used our collections as the basis for a series of information sheets titled Objects in the
history of pharmacy which may help you out. Click here to transfer to our information sheets page.
We have also explored some of our collections through online exhibitions.
Please note that in order to ensure appropriate levels of security and environmental control, we are
only able to lend items from the collections to other museums. However, if you are interested in
providing access to pharmacy items we may be able to help with other suggestions.
Other museums
There are pharmacy objects in many other museums across the country (and the world!). A local
museum may hold items related to local community or hospital pharmacies. We try to keep up to date
with pharmacy material in other museums, and maintain a list of museums with pharmacy collections.
Click here for a list of museums that hold pharmacy collections.
Is the object pharmacy-related?
It may be that the object you‟re investigating or looking for is medical, but not related to pharmacy.
There are 24 medical museums in London, and more across the country, who may be able to help
with items connected with nursing, surgery, optometry, dentistry and many other medical specialisms.
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Click here to transfer to London Museums of Health and Medicine
website
The two largest collections of historical materia medica (raw drugs) are held at the Science Museum
and the Economic Botany Collection, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
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Research resources:
How do I go about finding relevant ephemera?
One of the by-products of pharmacy, particularly medicines, is ephemera - paper-based printed
material including adverts, labels, prescription envelopes and medicine information sheets. The
Museum has an extensive collection dating from the 18th century to the present day. Adverts and
labels provide you with information about the product itself, but also convey a sense of the historical
period through typeface, colour, design and wording.
Pharmacy ephemera is also held by
other medical museums, local history
museums and local records offices. In
addition, the Museum of Brands,
Packaging and Advertising has a
specialist collection that may be of
interest.
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Research resources:
How do I go about finding relevant oral history?
Hearing a pharmacist describe their training and daily working lives provides an immediate insight
into one individual‟s experiences of the pharmacy profession.
Formally recorded interviews with
pharmacists exist in 2 main collections,
although individual oral histories may
have been recorded by other institutions
or historians. The 2 main collections are:
• the British Sound Archive
Around 350 interviews relating to
pharmacy. This includes 100 life story
interviews, 50 each with community
pharmacists and hospital pharmacists. To
search the catalogue online, click here.
• Museum of the Royal Pharmaceutical
Society
Around 100 interviews with pharmacists,
particularly those who have been
significant in the politics of the profession.
Contact the Museum to find out more and
arrange access.
If you want to carry out your own oral history interviews, the Oral History Society website provides
lots of useful advice and information, and runs training courses and events.
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Research resources:
How do I go about finding relevant images?
Photographs are just one type of image that is valuable to the pharmacy historian. Illustrations,
cartoons and caricatures, and ephemera also
provide pictures to illuminate pharmacy
practice.
The Society's Museum holds a photo archive of
some 7000 images reflecting both the
personalities, premises and work of the Society
over 150 years and the broader history of
British pharmacy.
A useful introduction to the archive is given in
Pharmacy history: a pictorial record by Kate
Arnold-Forster and Nigel Tallis, published in
1989 and available from the Museum.
Click here for more information about our image
services.
A large selection from the Museum‟s caricature
collection is available to buy online. Click here
to transfer to the Memoryprints website, where
you can browse the available images.
The biggest specialist library on the history of
medicine is the Wellcome Library. Click here to transfer to their website or to their online image
catalogue, click here.
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Research resources:
How do I go about finding relevant pharmacy membership
records?
From the foundation of the Pharmaceutical Society in 1841 until the present day, pharmacists have
joined the organisation. Between 1841 and 1868, membership was voluntary, but from 1869 onwards
pharmacists had to register with the Pharmaceutical Society.
The resulting membership lists and Registers enable us
to provide career histories for pharmacists. To find out
more about our People and Premises Research Service,
click here.
Before 1841, a pharmacist was not required to take
examinations or register themselves with any
organisation. They simply learned their trade through a
period of apprenticeship in a pharmacy business.
If the person that you are interested in called themselves
an “apothecary” it may be worth contacting the
Worshipful Society of Apothecaries to check their
records. The term apothecary, often used between the
1600s and 1800s, does not refer to the chemist and
druggist. It was used for individuals living in London who
had passed the examinations of the Worshipful Society
of Apothecaries of London, founded in 1617, or to their
often less well qualified counterparts in the provinces.
Click here to transfer to their website.
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Research resources:
How do I go about finding relevant Acts of Parliament?
Before the foundation of the Pharmaceutical Society in 1841, there was very little legislation
relating specifically to medicines. In fact, one of the driving forces behind the Society‟s
creation was to push for parliamentary recognition of the profession, and laws that would
support the development of pharmacy as a legally recognised occupation, based on a
scientific qualification and a process of registration. This in turn would allow for control over
the supply of medicines and potentially dangerous chemicals.
Jacob Bell, the Society‟s founder, became a Member of
Parliament in 1850, specifically to ensure that pharmacy‟s
voice was heard in the House of Commons.
Click here for an information sheet outlining key legislation
relating to British pharmacy history.
The National Archives manage a website where you can
search for UK legislation and find the full text for
parliamentary acts, historical and current.
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Information sheet:
Pharmacy legislation
Before the establishment of the Pharmaceutical Society in 1841, there were very few laws relating to
pharmacy and medicines.
One of the driving forces behind the Pharmaceutical Society‟s creation was to push for
parliamentary recognition of the profession, and laws that would support the development of
pharmacy as a legally-recognised occupation, based on a scientific qualification and a process of
registration. This in turn would allow for control over the supply of medicines and potentially
dangerous chemicals.
Members of Parliament
Jacob Bell, the Society‟s founder, became a Member of
Parliament for St Albans in 1850, specifically to ensure that
pharmacy‟s voice was heard in the House of Commons. His
tenure lasted only until the next change of Government in
1852, not least because of bribery by his agent and a
subsequent Parliamentary inquiry. However, he saw through
a Pharmacy Bill in 1852. He later tried twice unsuccessfully
to get back into Parliament. His best chance to do so came
in early 1859, an opportunity he had to decline because of
his failing health.
There have been a number of pharmacist MPs since,
including Sir William Samuel Glyn Jones and Sir Hugh
Linstead, both who also both worked as Secretary and
Registrar of the Pharmaceutical Society, and Sandra Gidley,
Liberal Democrat MP for Romsey from 2000 - 2010.
Key historical legislation relating to British pharmacy
1624
A Statute of James II established the basis of modern patent law, allowing for
manufacturing rights to be reserved to the 'true and first inventor' of any new process or
product.
1783 A tax was imposed on medicines sold by anyone not a surgeon, apothecary or shop
based druggist. The duty levied depended on the cost of the product.
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1812 After a series of minor changes the tax was replaced by the Medicines Stamp Act. The Act
required a duty stamp to be fixed to the packaging of those manufactured medicines not
deemed to be of a standard, well-known recipe. The tax paid was in proportion to the cost of
the medicine. On a shilling (12 penny) remedy it would be one and a half pence.
1850
The Arsenic Act restricted the supply of arsenic to medical practitioners and to chemists &
druggists.
1852
The Pharmacy Act established a Register of Pharmaceutical Chemists, restricted to those
who had taken the Society‟s exams. However, the Act did not restrict pharmacy practice to
examined & registered people, nor provide a legal definition for pharmacy trade and practice.
1868
The Pharmacy Act set up a register of people qualified to sell, dispense and compound
poisons. The Pharmaceutical Society would examine and register pharmacists, and prosecute
them in cases relating to poisons. Regulations in other areas were left to the Society. The Act
also introduced a Poisons List of substances only to be sold by retail by registered
Pharmaceutical Chemists and Chemists & Druggists.
1898
The Pharmacy Acts Amendment Act. Apprentices became „student associates‟, and
Chemists & Druggists became full members of the Society with the same rights as
Pharmaceutical Chemists, except for exemption from jury service.
1908
The Poison and Pharmacy Act. The Society gained further powers relating to education and
training. The title of Pharmacist was extended to all registered persons. The Poisons List was
extended.
1911
The National Health Insurance Act established a scheme (that came into effect on 15th
January 1913) for all employed people earning less than £160 p.a. and up to 70 years of age.
Insured people making contributions received free prescription medicines. The impact on
pharmacists, due to the volume of National Insurance prescriptions, was significant.
1917 The Venereal Disease Act prohibited the advertising of medicines for VD and selling
mixtures containing scheduled substances. It introduced the concept of 'Prescription Only'
medicines.
1920
The Dangerous Drugs Act regulated the import and sale of potential 'drugs of addiction',
including the derivatives of opium, cocaine and cannabis widely used in proprietary remedies.
1925
The Therapeutic Substances Act controlled by license the manufacture of products the purity
or potency of which could not be tested by chemical means.
1933
The Pharmacy and Poisons Act. Privy Council became pharmacy‟s central authority and 3
Privy Council nominees were to serve on the Society‟s Council. Membership, with an annual
fee, became compulsory for all registered Pharmaceutical Chemists, and Chemists &
Druggists. Statutory Committee was established as a disciplinary body, and the inspectorate
was set up to enforce the Act. Registration of premises was proposed, and was first published
in 1936. The Act established a Poisons Board to advise the Secretary of State on what should
Discovering pharmacy history research guide
© Royal Pharmaceutical Society Museum
26
The Museum
be included in the Poisons List. This now contained a Fourth Schedule which listed poisons
which could only be sold to the public in accordance with a prescription given by a doctor,
dentist or veterinary surgeon.
1938 The Food and Drugs Act prohibited the adulteration and mislabelling of drugs.
1939 The Cancer Act restricted the advertisement of products claiming to treat cancer.
1940
Under the Finance (No. 2) Act purchase tax was imposed on a range of goods including most
drugs and medicines.
1941
The Pharmacy and Medicines Act repealed the old medicine stamp duty. It forbade the
general advertisement of products which claimed to treat a number of specific illnesses
including cancer, cataract, epilepsy and tuberculosis, or to be effective in procuring an
abortion. For the first time manufacturers were required to list a product‟s active ingredients
on their packaging.
1947
The Penicillin Act controlled the sale and supply of this recently-launched medicine to curb
indiscriminate use.
1948 The National Health Service made prescription medicine available to all.
1953 The Pharmacy Act introduced the Pharmaceutical Chemist‟s Diploma as the new single
professional qualification for pharmacists. The category of Chemist and Druggist was
abolished. The last examination for this qualification was held in 1954.
1968 The Medicines Act replaced much of the previous legislation. It still controls the
manufacture and distribution of medicines.
1971
The Misuse of Drugs Act replaced various earlier dangerous drugs acts, extending their remit
to respond to increasing problems of drug misuse.
1972 The Poisons Act still regulates the sale of non-medicinal poisons.
2008 The Health and Social Care Act amended the Health Act of 1999 and enabled the General
Pharmaceutical Council to be established as the regulatory body for pharmacy.
Discovering pharmacy history research guide
© Royal Pharmaceutical Society Museum
27
The Museum
Research resources:
How do I go about finding relevant buildings?
Pharmacy history is all around you as you walk through towns and cities. Of course, much of it is now
virtually invisible, but there are still clues if you look hard enough – including painted advertisements
on the sides of shops, mahogany fittings, and carved names of institutions that used to occupy
buildings.
Through your own research you are likely to come across pharmacy-related buildings, but you can
also uncover pharmacy links from historical
photographs and maps, and also from existing
published guides and walks. Keep your eyes
peeled!
The area around the headquarters of the Royal
Pharmaceutical Society is full of sites and
buildings steeped in the history of pharmacy and
health. The Museum‟s Lambeth Pharmacy Walk
provides 3 routes to guide you around the area.
28
Discovering pharmacy history research guide
© Royal Pharmaceutical Society Museum
The Museum
Useful links
Organisations
British Society for the History of Pharmacy
Local Record Offices
London Museums of Health and Medicine
National Archives (Public Records Office)
RPS Library
Thackray Museum
Wellcome Library
Pharmacy history online
Museum of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society information sheets
The Museum produces information sheets in 4 areas: objects in the history of pharmacy, history of
the Society, guidance for museums, and Developing Treatments.
The Evolution of Pharmacy
The Museum works with the British Society for the History of Pharmacy to create and maintain these
resources written specifically for pharmacy lecturers and students. They cover themes from „The
development of the profession‟ to „The control of harmful substances.‟
ISHP Research Tools
Site maintained by the International Society for the History of Pharmacy with searchable databases of
oral presentations and pharmacy history literature, plus links to sources of images, and to grant
funding.
PerBo´s History of Pharmacy Web Pages
Pharmacists Per Boström and Bo Ohlson, both members of the Swedish Society for the History of
Pharmacy, created and maintain this site. It is particularly useful for its links to other pharmacy
history websites, and its listings of pharmacy museums.
History of Pharmacy (Pharmaceutical Society of Australia)
This Australian take on pharmacy history consists of 10 chapters covering the Ancient Egyptians to a
look into the future.
Discovering pharmacy history research guide
© Royal Pharmaceutical Society Museum
29
The Museum
Booklists
Recommended source list:
General pharmacy history and pharmacy equipment
Access
Some of these books are likely to be obtainable through your local public library. Others on this list
may only be available at a specialist medical or history library. For information on the Society‟s own
library see www.rpharms.com/support/our-library.asp
More specific topics?
The Museum produces a range of booklists on pharmacy history topics e.g. bronze mortars, women
in pharmacy history, English drug jars. Please contact the Museum for more information
[email protected]
The British Society for the History of Pharmacy published A Guide to Sources in Pharmaceutical
History in 1990 which gives references across a broad range of pharmacy topics.
The indexes of specialist journals including Pharmaceutical Historian and Pharmacy in History can
also be useful sources.
AUTHOR
Anderson, Stuart ed.
Bell, Jacob &
Redwood, Theophilus
Bennion, E
Blakeman, A & Smith,
M
Boussel, P &
Bonnemain, H & Bove,
F
Connor, R D
Cowen, D L & Helfand,
WH
Crellin, J K
Crellin, J K & Hutton, D
A
Crellin, J K & Scott, J R
TITLE
Making Medicines: a brief history
of pharmacy and pharmaceuticals
Historical sketch of the progress of
pharmacy in Great Britain
Antique medical instruments
British Bottle Collectors Price
Guide and Directory
History of pharmacy and of the
pharmaceutical industry
PUBLISHER
London: Pharmaceutical
Press
London: Pharmaceutical
Society of Great Britain
London: Philip Wilson
Elsecar: British Bottle Review
DATE
2005
Paris:
Asklepios Press
1982
The weights and measures of
England
Pharmacy: an illustrated history
London: Science Museum
(HMSO)
New York:
Harry N Abrams Inc
London: Wellcome Institute of
the History of Medicine
1987
In MEDICAL HISTORY vol
17, pp266-287
1973
London: Wellcome Institute
for the History of Medicine
1972
Medical Ceramics; A Catalogue of
the English and Dutch Collections
in the Museum of the Wellcome
Institute of the History of Medicine
Pharmaceutical History and its
sources in the Wellcome
Collection: no 5 Comminution and
bell metal mortars c.1300-1850
Glass and British Pharmacy 16001900: a survey and guide to the
Discovering pharmacy history research guide
© Royal Pharmaceutical Society Museum
1880
1979
1983
1988
1969
30
The Museum
Wellcome Collection of British
Glass
Drey, R E A
Fletcher, E
Graham T J
Graham, J T
Grier, James
Apothecary Jars: Pharmaceutical
pottery and porcelain in Europe
The finest instruments ever made:
a bibliography of medical, dental,
optical and pharmaceutical
company trade literature 17001939
Antique bottles in glass
Weights and Measures
Scales and Balances
A history of pharmacy
Griffenhagen ,George;
Bogard ,Mary
History of drug containers and their
labels
Hill Curth, Louise
From physick to pharmacology:
five hundred years of British drug
retailing
Royal Pharmaceutical Society of
Great Britain: a social and political
history 1841-1991
Popular Medicines: an illustrated
history
Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing
2006
London : Pharmaceutical
Press
1991
London : Pharmaceutical
Press
2007
English Delftware Drug Jars. The
collection of the Museum of the
Royal Pharmaceutical Society of
Great Britain
The Victorian Chemist and
Druggist
Scales and Weights
London : Pharmaceutical
Press
2006
Aylesbury: Shire
1996
London & New Haven: Yale
University Press
Philadelphia, USA:
Lippincott Co.
1965
Davis, Audrey &
Dreyfuss, Mark S
Holloway, S W F
Homan, Peter G,
Hudson, Briony &
Rowe, Raymond C
Hudson, Briony
Jackson, W A
Kisch B
Kremer, E & Urdang, G
(revised by G
Sonnendecker)
Lipski, L (ed. Archer, M)
The history of pharmacy
Matthews, L G
Matthews, L G
Matthews, LG
Dated English delftware: tinglazed
earthenware 1600-1800
The antiques of pharmacy
History of pharmacy in Britain
Apparatus of Roman Britain
Morson, AFP
Apparatus in bygone days
Discovering pharmacy history research guide
© Royal Pharmaceutical Society Museum
London : Faber & Faber
1978
Medical History Publishing
Associates
1986
Poole: Blandford Press
Aylesbury: Shire
Aylesbury: Shire
London: Pharmaceutical
Press
Madison: American Institute
of the History of Pharmacy
1976
1979
1981
1937
London: Phillip Wilson
London: G Bell & Sons
London: E&S Livingstone
In PHARMACEUTICAL
HISTORIAN vol 2(2) pp 3-4
(July)
In PHARMACEUTICAL
1999
1976
(4th
ed)
1984
1971
1962
1971
1998
31
The Museum
HISTORIAN vol 28 (1) pp 1416 (Mar)
Simon Schuster
1987
Opie, Robert
The art of the label
Pinto, E
Porter, R
Treen and other wooden bygones
Health for sale: quackery in
England 1660-1850
London: G Bell & Sons
Manchester UP
1969
1989
Cambridge illustrated history of
medicine
The evolution of pharmacy in
Britain
The Pharmaceutical Industry. A
Guide to Historical Records
Cambridge UP
1996
London: Pitman Medical
1965
Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing
Ltd
2003
Young, A Mortimer
Antique Medicine chests
Old Fort Press, 1176 So.
Dogwood Drive,
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22801
London: Pharmaceutical
Press
London: John Lane, The
Bodley Head
London : Bailliere Tindall &
Cox
London: Vernier Press
1992
Trease, G E
The Pill Rollers: Apothecary
Antiques and Drug Store
Collectibles, 2nd edition
Pharmacy history: a pictorial
history
The mystery and art of the
apothecary
Pharmacy in history
Porter, R ed
Poynter, F N L
Richmond, L,
Stevenson, J & Turton,
A ed.
Richardson, Lillian C. &
Charles G.
Tallis, N & ArnoldFoster, K
Thompson, C J S
Discovering pharmacy history research guide
© Royal Pharmaceutical Society Museum
1989
1929
1964
1994
32
The Museum
Recommended source list:
Pharmacy collections and drug identification
Access
Some of these books are likely to be obtainable through your local public library. Others on this list
may only be available at a specialist medical or history library. For information on the Society‟s own
library see www.rpharms.com/support/our-library.asp
Abbreviations used on this booklist are as follows: RPS = Royal Pharmaceutical Society, BMA =
British Medical Association, GMC = General Medical Council.
PHARMACOPOEIAS, FORMULARIES AND CODEXES
These reference books provide information about pharmaceutical recipes and medicinal substances.
Some are also useful for the translation into English of Latin terms. Out of print works, and past
editions of those still current, may only be available in specialist libraries.
PRE 1850
AUTHOR(S)
Royal College
of Physicians
Royal College
of Physicians
of Edinburgh
Lewis, W
TITLE
The London Pharmacopoeia
(Latin title: Pharmacopoeia
Londinensis)
The Edinburgh
Pharmacopoeia
The New Dispensatory
(published as the Edinburgh
New Dispensatory from 1786)
PUBLISHER
Royal College of
Physicians,
London
Royal College of
Physicians of
Edinburgh
London,
Edinburgh
(Dublin 1768
only), various
DATE
1st ed
16181851
1st ed
1699-12th
ed 1841
1st ed
1753–11th
ed 1826
1st ed
1807,
1826,
1850
1st ed
1712-4th
ed 1748
Royal College
of Physicians
of Dublin
The Dublin Pharmacopoeia
Royal College of
Physicians of
Dublin
Pomet, P
A Compleat History Of
Druggs Written in French By
M Pomet…..to which is added
what is further observable on
the same subject from Messrs
Lemery & Tournefort
Bonwicke &
William, London
Discovering pharmacy history research guide
© Royal Pharmaceutical Society Museum
NOTES
The earliest British
Pharmacopoeia. In
Latin
In Latin until 1839
Useful work, in
English, listing
preparations in
new London &
Edinburgh
Pharmacopoeias,
with sections on
materia medica &
pharmaceutical
procedures.
In Latin until 1850
English translation
of the French
original. Good
illustrated source of
information on
plant, animal &
mineral drugs.
33
The Museum
Quincy, J
A Complete English
Dispensatory, or
Pharmacopoeia
Extemporania
Longman,
London
1718–
15th ed
1782
Accessible work
listing recipes and
therapeutic
information.
The New London
Dispensatory, or
Pharmacopoeia Londinensis
Various, London
2nd ed
1770–8th
ed 1716
Recipes and
therapeutic
information.
2nd ed
1842–
12th ed
1899
1st ed
1957 to
present
1st ed
1898–
11th 1956
Synopsis of recipes
in British & foreign
pharmacopoeias
Salmon, W
CURRENT SOURCES AND BOOKS POST 1850
In some cases current editions may be available in public libraries.
Beasley, H
Pocket Formulary
Churchill, London
BMA & RPS
British National Formulary
BMA & RPSGB
Chemist and
Druggist, The
Pharmaceutical Formulas
The Chemist and
Druggist, London
GMC (original
authors, later
GB Medicines
Commission)
Royal College
of Physicians
(reprint editor G
Urdang)
The British Pharmacopoeia
Various, London.
Currently
Stationery Office
1st ed
1864 to
present
Pharmacopoeia
Londinensis 1618 (facsimile
edition)
State Historical
Society of
Wisconsin,
Madison
1944
RPS
Martindale: the Extra
Pharmacopoeia
The
Pharmaceutical
Press, London
1st ed
1883 to
present
RPS
The British Pharmaceutical
Codex (from 11th ed 1981
The Pharmaceutical Codex)
Squire‟s Pocket Companion
to the British
Pharmaceutical
Press, London
1st ed
1907 to
present
1st ed
1864-
Squire, P
Discovering pharmacy history research guide
© Royal Pharmaceutical Society Museum
Whittaker,
London
Looks at current
drug constituents,
doses, uses etc.
Useful book of
formulae for human
and animal
medicines,
cosmetic and
domestic
preparations
Contains approved
formulae
Reprint of the
London
Pharmacopoeia, in
Latin, with useful
introduction.
Info re. recipes,
substances,
therapeutics & and
proprietary
preparations
Information on
substances and
therapeutics.
Recipes from the
British
34
The Museum
19th ed
1916
Pharmacopoeia
Pharmacopoeia,
with comparative
foreign formulae
HERBAL MEDICINES
Numerous herbals have been written, and plant-based remedies are also contained in
pharmacopoeias and formularies. The herbals listed below include facsimile editions and cover a
broad chronological period.
AUTHOR(S)
Armstrong,
David
TITLE
Herbs that Work – the
scientific evidence of their
healing powers
PUBLISHER
Ulysses Press,
Berkeley, USA
DATE
2001
Cameron, M L
Anglo Saxon Medicine Cambridge Studies in AngloSaxon England 7
1993
Cockayne, O,
ed
Leechdoms, Wortcunning &
Starcraft of Early England.
Being a Collection of
Documents, for the Most Part
Never Before Printed,
Illustrating the History of
Science in This Country
Before the Norman Conquest
(vols 1-3)
The Complete Herbal
Cambridge
University
Press,
Cambridge
Longman,
Green,
Longman,
Roberts &
Green
Culpeper, N
Gerard, John
The herbal or generall
historie of plantes gathered
by John Gerard…very much
enlarged and amended by
[Thomas Johnson]
Discovering pharmacy history research guide
© Royal Pharmaceutical Society Museum
Various modern
editions
available
NOTES
Based on the German
Government‟s
Commission E Report.
Includes section on
herbs for which no
evidence could be found
that they provided the
benefits claimed for
them.
Numerous herbal
remedies interspersed in 35
text.
3 vols,
18641866
Often called „Saxon
Leechdoms‟, this work
includes medical recipes
and treatments
Original
ly
publish
ed
London
,
1653
Original
ly
publish
ed
London
,
Various facsimile
editions of this work
readily available in
bookshops.
The Museum
1633
1931
Grieve, Maud
A Modern Herbal, vols 1 & 2
Jonathon Cape,
London
Gunther, R T,
ed
The Greek Herbal of
Dioscorides
John Johnson,
Oxford
1934
Hatfield,
Gabrielle
Memory, Wisdom and
Healing: the history of
domestic plant medicine
Sutton
Publishing,
Stroud
1999
The Hamlyn guide to edible
and medicinal plants of
Britain and northern Europe
Herbal Medicines: a guide for
health-care professionals
Hamlyn,
London
1981
London, The
Pharmaceutical
Press
Elm Tree
Books,
London
Press Syndicate
at University of
Cambridge
1996
Leaves from Gerard‟s Herbal
John Lane The
Bodley Head
Ltd
1931,
reprint
1943
Potter‟s New Cyclopedia of
botanical drugs and
preparations
The C W Daniel
Company Ltd,
Saffron Walden
1988
Good modern source,
with historical uses
discussed.
Facsimile edition of
classic and influential 1st
century AD text
Launert,
Edmund
Newall, C A,
Anderson, L A &
Phillipson, JD
Phillips, Roger
Turner, W
(ed G T L
Chapman & M
N Tweddle)
Woodward, M
Wren, R C
(Revised by
Williamson, E M
& Evans, F J)
The Photographic Guide to
Identify Herbs and Medicinal
Plants
A New Herball, Part 1
Comprehensive current
source
1987
1989
36
Originally published
1568. A landmark herbal
in English. Woodcut
illustrations.
Selected text from The
Herball or General
Historie of Plants by
John Gerard, first
published 1597
PROPRIETARY MEDICINES
The term here is applied to „quack medicines‟, „nostrums‟, patent, brandnamed and trademarked
medicines. Dating and information about the history and constituents of the products can be found
from a number of sources, both pharmacy reference works and those looking at the history of
pharmacy / medicine. It is often difficult to find information about some of the more obscure products.
AUTHOR(S)
BMA
TITLE
Secret Remedies. What They
Cost and What They Contain
Discovering pharmacy history research guide
© Royal Pharmaceutical Society Museum
PUBLISHER
BMA, London
DATE
1909
NOTES
Useful source listing
results of BMA‟s
investigations of well
known remedies.
The Museum
BMA
Chemist and
Druggist, The
More Secret Remedies. What
they Cost and What They
Contain
The Chemist & Druggist Diary
(1886-1934), then The Chemist
& Druggist Diary & Yearbook
(1935-1968), then The Chemist
& Druggist Yearbook & Buyer‟s
Guide (1969), then The Chemist
& Druggist Yearbook (19701971), from 1972 to present The
Chemist and Druggist Directory
BMA, London
1912
As „Secret Remedies‟
The Chemist
and Druggist
1886present
Advertising
publication useful for
dating products. Well
illustrated until the
1960s.
Medicine Tax Stamps Worldwide
American
Topical
Association,
Milawaukee,
USA
Aldershot:
Ashgate
Publishing
The Macmillan
Company, New
York
London; The
Pharmaceutical
Press
1971
Information about tax
stamps used on
British products,
including a useful
product listing
Griffenhagen, G
Hill Curth,
Louise
Holbrook, S H
From physick to pharmacology:
five hundred years of British
drug retailing
The Golden Age of Quackery
2006
37
1959
Homan, Peter
G, Hudson,
Briony and
Rowe,
Raymond C
Popular Medicines: an illustrated
history
Paris, J A
Pharmacologia; Comprehending
the Art of Prescribing
Various, London
2nd ed
1812–
9th ed
1843
Porter, R
Health for Sale: Quackery in
England 1660-1850
1989
Price, R & Swift, Catalogue of Nineteenth
F
Century Medical Trade Marks
1800-1880
Manchester
University
Press,
Manchester
Science
Museum,
London
RPS
Pharmaceutical
1st ed.
Martindale: The Extra
Discovering pharmacy history research guide
© Royal Pharmaceutical Society Museum
2007
1988
Looks at products in
the USA, many also
sold in Britain
Provides both a
useful introduction to
the subject, and an
insight into 21
brandname
medicines
5th ed of 1822 to 8th
ed of 1833 have a
useful „index to
patent medicines &
nostrums‟ mentioned
in the text.
Useful source of
information on
specific remedies,
and wider themes
Alphabetical listing of
products, with
illustrations of
trademarks
Useful source, lists
The Museum
Pharmacopoeia
Press, London
1883–
present
proprietaries and
their constituents.
Thompson, C J
S
Quacks of Old London
Bretano‟s Ltd,
London
1928
Wootton, A C
Chronicles of Pharmacy. Vol 2
Macmillan & Co,
Ltd, London
1910
Looks at London
quacks and their
products from 16th to
18th centuries
Looks at the history
of well known
proprietaries
TEXTBOOKS OF PHARMACY PRACTICE
Many manuals of pharmacy practice were published in the second half of the 19th and the 20th
centuries. They can provide useful information about how methods for making medical preparations;
for example pill making. Some have good line drawings showing how dispensing equipment was
used. Many also include sections on pharmaceutical weights and measures, and prescription layout
and abbreviation.
AUTHOR(S)
Bentley, A O
TITLE
Textbook of Pharmaceutics
PUBLISHER
Bailliere,
Tindall & Cox,
London
Chemist and
Druggist,
The
The Art of Dispensing
Chemist and
Druggist,
London
Moss, H G
Retail Pharmacist‟s Handbook
George
Newnes Ltd,
London
1st ed
1958–
2nd ed
1962
Remington, J
P
The Practice of Pharmacy (continued
as Remington‟s Pharmaceutical
Sciences from 1965)
Phillip
Lippincott,
London
1st ed.
1885–
present
RPS
The Pharmaceutical Pocket Book
(continued as The Pharmaceutical
Pharmaceutic
al Press,
1st ed
1907–
Discovering pharmacy history research guide
© Royal Pharmaceutical Society Museum
DATE
2nd ed
1929-8th
edition
1977
1st ed
1885–
12th ed
1953
NOTES
Good
illustrations and
descriptions of
pharmacy skills.
Good
illustrations and
descriptions of
dispensing
skills, useful
section on
weights and
measures/
prescriptions.
Information on
all aspects of
running a
pharmacy shop,
especially
information on
shop fittings,
with good
photos.
Good
illustrations &
descriptions of
pharmacy skills
Information on
pharmacy
38
The Museum
Handbook 1970)
London
19th ed
1980
practice,
including
prescription
abbreviations.
GENERAL
Useful current books. There are also many editions of medical Latin dictionaries available, and these
can be helpful for translating Latin drug names.
AUTHORS
Appelbe, G
& Wingfield,
J
TITLE
Pharmacy Law & Ethics (joint authors
of 1st–4th editions were G E Appelbe &
JR Dale, 5th-6theditions Appelbe &
Wingfield)
PUBLISHER
The
Pharmaceutical
Press
DATE
1st ed
19768th ed,
2005
Caduceus
(journal)
„Safety Issues in Medical Museums‟
issue, vol 8, No.2, 1991
The Pearson
Museum,
Southern Illinois
University, USA
1991
Drey, R
Apothecary Jars
Faber & Faber
Ltd, London
1978
Estes, J
Worth
Dictionary of Protopharmacology:
Therapeutic Practices 1700-1850
Science History
Publications,
part of Watson
publishing
International,
Canton, USA
1990
Fleming, D,
Paine, C &
Rhodes, J
Ed
Social History in Museums: A
Handbook for Professionals: see
section 27.7 „Pharmacy History
Material‟ by K Arnold-Foster
HMSO
1993
RPS
Medicines, Ethics & Practice: A Guide
RPSGB,
Annual
Discovering pharmacy history research guide
© Royal Pharmaceutical Society Museum
NOTES
Definitive work
on pharmacy
law and legal
issues relating
to drugs
Useful articles
on safety in
medical
museums,
including
hazardous
substances,
controlled
drugs, &
radioactive
devices
This
authoritative
work on drug
jars has a good
glossary of drug
jar inscriptions
Extremely
useful reference
source for
medical
substances and
preparations,
both English
and Latin
names
Looks at special
problems of
pharmacy
history
collections.
Current
39
The Museum
for Pharmacists
London
information on
legal issues
relating to
medicines
Acknowledgements
All of the images used in this guide are from the RPS Museum collection.
Many thanks to Dr Stuart Anderson, Dr Christiane Staiger and Heather Maddin for their assistance in
producing the original website guide in 2010.
40
Discovering pharmacy history research guide
© Royal Pharmaceutical Society Museum