No. 1 1

No. 1, Fall 2000

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

Pharmacy in the American Century

school diploma until New York in1910.

Few women practiced phar-macy a century ago. Pharmacy wasa business and therefore in thesphere of men. Most of the fewwomen pharmacists in 1900worked in hospitals.

products, stationery, candy, over-the-counter remedies, surgical sup-plies, and small, inexpensiveitems. In addition, stores in ruralareas often carried paints and oils,as well as flavorings and canningsupplies.

The prescription businesswas a small part of the activities ofmost stores, yet essential to pro-vide the special ambiance of the“drugstore.” Most prescriptionscalled for some compounding; themanufacturing of ingredients hadpassed on to large-scale companiesa generation before.

As much as prescription fill-

O NE hundred years agopeople walked into drugstores and asked “Doc” for

“cures” for their ailments. Today, pa-tients are again putting their faith inpharmacists to be responsible forproper drug use. A century ago,armed with a handful of effectivedrugs, pharmacists could do little butease discomfort. Today, pharmacistscontrol the distribution of hundredsof potent and effective medicines,and desire to play a much larger rolein the healthcare enterprise.

A century ago, almost allpharmacists had received theirtraining via apprenticeship, some-times supplemented with a semes-ter or two of formal schooling. Af-ter working with a drugstore ownerfor four or so years and studying afew basic texts, a young manwould take a state board examina-tion. Upon passing, this fellowcould place “R.Ph.” after his name.No state required a pharmacy

The American Institute of the History of Pharmacy is a uniqueagency dedicated to the preservation of pharmacy’s heritage.The Apothecary’s Cabinet is a new 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

General EmporiumOne hundred years ago, the

average drugstore was a generalemporium, containing the sort ofmerchandise that we associate withcommunity pharmacies today:Cosmetics, magazines, tobacco

2 Apothecary’s Cabinet

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 53706-1508 Phone (608) 262-5378, email AC@aihp.org; www.aihp.org.

Apothecary’s Cabinet • No. 1

ing, pharmacists were called upon to practice a fairbit of low level “doctoring,” selling cough medi-cines, laxatives, pain relievers, and the like to cus-tomers. In a time when paper credentials (diplomasand certificates) were less important, each pharmacyowner built his reputation on individual achieve-ment.

The Era of Academic Reform (1910-1965)In the midst of the Progressive Era (1900-

1920), the state of New York passed a law requiringthat all pharmacists registered after 1910 possess apharmacy school diploma. The standard course atthe time took two years. Initially, pharmacists op-posed these laws. However, when educational re-former Abraham Flexner in 1915 called pharmacy anon-profession and then the War Department refusedto routinely commission pharmacists as officers in

the Great War, the profession changed its approach.The leaders of pharmacy helped to push througheducation requirements in states during the 1920sand 1930s. In addition, leaders pinned their hopes oneducational reform. By 1928, the colleges of phar-macy agreed to institute a mandatory 4-year B.S.minimum for graduation.

Start of Compounding DeclineWhen the students entered the four-year pro-

grams they learned the art and science of compound-ing, even though this skill was being taken over bymass manufacturing. Beginning at the turn of thecentury with new drugs like aspirin, pharmaceuticalcompanies introduced more synthetic, crystalline en-tities. Easily compounded into tablets, these medi-cines supplanted older liquid mixtures of botanicalfluid extracts and tinctures. Just as manufacturing

Kriger’s drugstore in Baltimore(c. 1929) carried all the essen-

tials: cigars, candy, toiletries, anda prescription department.

No. 1 3

had gradually disappeared from pharmacies after theCivil War, compounding began its slow decline inpharmacy practice.

ProhibitionIf pharmacists in the 1920s were compounding

fewer prescriptions, they were making up morechocolate milkshakes and other soda fountain spe-cialties. With the passage of national prohibition, thedrugstore fountain replaced the tavern as the new,socially acceptable gathering place. Beverage alco-hol disappeared from legal commerce, except inpharmacies where, because it was official in theUnited States Pharmacopoeia, one could still getwhisky by prescription.

Pharmaceutical SurveyAt the conclusion of the war, the leaders of

pharmacy decided that some action was necessary tocombat the low stature of the profession. Workingwith the American Council on Education, the profes-sion united in a major self study called the Pharma-ceutical Survey, which began in 1946. Every majoraspect of pharmacy was studied. Considering thelarge numbers of educators involved, it is not sur-

prising that academics received special scrutiny. TheSurvey concluded that the adoption of a standard 6-year, Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum would makepharmacy a true profession in the eyes of the public.

1950sIronically, the call for more education came at

just the time when developments within the pharma-ceutical industry and the legislative realm would re-duce the scope of practice. After World War Two,American drug companies raced to produce newmedicines in convenient dosage forms. Prescriptionvolume rose dramatically and compounding all butdisappeared during the decade of the 1950s.

The role of the pharmacist was limited by cus-tom and law to dispensing only. The Durham-

Students at the University ofWisconsin School of Pharmacy in

1915, as shown in this photo-graph, learned the proper

manufacture of suppositories bycompression.

DepressionWhen the Depression of the 1930s hit, the

pharmacy business suffered but was less damagedthan others. First of all, people still got sick andneeded medicines. Second, drugstores had a stock ofdurable, low cost items, such as soap, cosmetics, andcandy that customers desired to buy. Third, no mat-ter how bad things got, people still wanted theircigarettes and cigars. And fourth, when prohibitionwas repealed in 1933, pharmacies had liquor to sell(and the reputation as legitimate outlets).

World War IIIn 1941, the United States entered the conflict

of World War Two. As was the case a generation be-fore, the War Department decided not to commissionpharmacists as officers. Again they cited the lowprofessional status of pharmacists. It angered theleaders of the profession to see nurses routinelycommissioned as officers, even though they had lesseducation than pharmacists.

4 Apothecary’s Cabinet

Humphrey Amendment to the 1938 Food Drug andCosmetic Act came into effect in 1952 and restrictedthe discretionary powers of the pharmacist throughits codification of the prescription drug legend andlimits on refills. Furthermore, anti-substitution lawspassed by most states restricted practice even more.

Pharmacists were discouraged to counsel aboutdrugs. As the Code of Ethics for the American Phar-maceutical Association (1952) stated clearly: “Thepharmacist does not discuss the therapeutic effectsor composition of a prescription with a patient.When such questions are asked, he suggests that thequalified practitioner [physician or dentist] is theproper person with whom such matters should bediscussed.”

During this period of count and pour pharmacypractice, educators debated the length of the profes-sional curriculum. The chain store industry wantedto keep the 4-year standard, mainly to keep laborcosts down. Reform minded leaders favored the 6-year program suggested by the Survey. A compro-mise 5-year B.S. program was adopted to begin asthe standard in 1960.

The 1950s were a boom era for communitypharmacy, especially for chains expanding into theburgeoning suburbs. Independent owners spentmuch of the decade in a losing battle trying to keepFair Trade laws in place. In the hospital sector, thenew hospitals built under the Hill-Burton Act stimu-lated the field of institutional pharmacy. The Ameri-can Society of Hospital Pharmacists, which had be-gun in 1942, succeeded in its efforts to furtherprofessionalize hospital practice.

And no historical discussion of health in the1950s should fail to mention the achievement ofSalk and Sabin to develop vaccines against polio.With this great advancement, plus the introductionof several new and effective medicines, the public

gained confidence in the ability of medical science tofind cures for disease. The pharmacy, which onceonly offered palliation, now contained true remedies.

The Clinical Pharmacy Era (1965-1990)Looking back we tend to romanticize the 1960s

as a decade of rebellion. For pharmacy, importantevolutionary steps were taken. In 1960, a pharmacistfrom Berryville, Virginia, Eugene V. White, pulledout all the commercial fixtures from his drugstoreand set up an office practice. Rather than sellingsome traditional drugstore items as others had triedin similar practices, White relied completely on pre-scription business. Among his innovations was thepatient profile card.

In the institutional area, a team of pharmacistslead by Don Francke surveyed hospital pharmacy inthe United States. The resulting book, Mirror to Hos-pital Pharmacy (1964), served as a jumping off pointfor the new concept of “clinical pharmacy.”

White had shown that the setting of pharmacypractice need not be tied to a general emporium, andMirror set out the mechanics of advanced control ofdrug use through unit packaging, pharmacy technicians,drug information centers, and patient profiles. Thinkingin pharmacy had shifted. As Donald Brodie proclaimedin 1965: “The ultimate goal of the services of pharmacymust be the safe use of drugs by the public. In this con-text, the mainstream function of pharmacy is clinical innature, one that may be identified accurately as drug-use control.” The clinical pharmacy movement wasborn. Many in the late 1960s and early 70s espouseddifferent definitions of what “clinical pharmacy” meant.Above all else, it meant that pharmacists started seeingthe person across the counter as a patient rather than asa customer.

The mid-1960s also brought the passage of

No. 1 5

Medicaid and Medicare. Various national healthschemes had been debated for decades in Washing-ton. President Johnson pushed healthcare for thepoor and elderly as a cornerstone of his Great Soci-ety. The hospital pharmacy sector benefited directlyfrom Medicare and cooperated with its implementa-tion. In retail pharmacy, however, third-party pay-ment for prescription service, whether from Medi-caid or from companies like PAID and PCS, wasviewed with suspicion.

The third-party programs of the 1960s did in-spire pharmacists to improve their record keeping,usually adopting some sort of profile system. As theconcept of clinical pharmacy spread out through theprofession during the late 1960s and the 1970s, phar-macists began counseling their patients to variousdegrees about proper drug use.

The shift that had occurred from the early1950s to the late 1960s is exemplified by the 1969revision of the APhA Code of Ethics. The old prohi-bition on sharing information was gone. Instead, thenew Code began, “A pharmacist should hold the

of practicing pharmacists. During the 1970s,women became a majority of most pharmacyschool classes, and should be a majority of allpharmacists a few years into the 21st century.

During the 1980s, as pharmacists expandedservices, their compensation from insurance com-panies declined. The strategies for the containmentof costs called managed care came to dominate thehealthcare marketplace. In 1980, less than one inten healthcare dollars was spent under managedcare; by 1990 it grew to more than seven in ten.

health and safety of patients to be of first consider-ation; he should render to each patient the full mea-sure of his ability as an essential health practitioner.”

The 1970s were critical to pharmacy. Schoolsof pharmacy, which had been generally cool to theidea of clinical pharmacy during the 1960s, revisedtheir curricula in the mid-1970s under pressure fromthe American Council on Pharmaceutical Education(ACPE) and to meet Federal guidelines. The con-sumer movement pushed states to repeal anti-substi-tution laws, which further encouraged pharmacists tomarket themselves as drug consultants. The incred-ible growth of third-party drug programs stimulatedpharmacists to install computer equipment to handlebilling. These systems also allowed pharmacists tobetter track drug use among patients and to searchfor dangerous interactions.

by law, regulation, and custom to the dispensingfunction. With the tremendous growth in new drugsand drug products, they had little time for much else.With computer technology and other automation,pharmacists during the 1970s and 1980s had a bitmore time to provide some degree of counseling topatients about drug use. The critical factor duringthese years was not so much the service provided,but the paradigm shift from “customer” to “patient.”As technology holds out the promise of greatly re-ducing the distributive function of pharmacists, theleadership of the profession has universally adoptedthe concept of pharmaceutical care as the key topharmacy’s future. Only time will tell if the rank andfile practitioners will accept this high level of re-sponsibility for proper drug use without adequatecompensation or societal expectation.

“A pharmacist should hold the health and safety of patients to be offirst consideration.”

Gregory J. Higby*

*Director, American Institute of the History of Pharmacy. This article was originallypublished in Pharmacy Times vol. 63 (1997): 16-24.)

Pharmaceutical Care and the FutureThe question for pharmacy at century’s end is

whether the future lies with managed care or withthe pharmaceutical care model of Hepler and Strand.The clinical pharmacy era (1965-1990) is probablybest viewed as transitional between the period ofdispensing-only practice (1945-1965) and that ofpharmaceutical care (1990-). For the two decadesfollowing World War Two, pharmacists were limited

WomenThe 1970s also witnessed the entrance of

women into the profession in large numbers. Beforethe 1970s, women had generally made up about 5%

6 Apothecary’s Cabinet

Philatelic Recognition forHistory of Pharmacy

slovakia to commemorate the International Con-gress of the History of Pharmacy held in Prague,September 20-25, 1971. In addition, a pictorialpostmark depicting an apothecary jar was usedon first day of issue covers.

The 30 haleru denomination stamp picturescoltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) used as a coughlinctus, and three 18th century boxwood or lin-den apothecary containers from the Kuks CastlePharmacy. The containers feature hand-painted

labels using a combination of al-chemical symbols and Latin ab-breviations.

The 60 haleru value stamppictures dog rose (Rosa canina),which is rich in vitamin C. The ce-ramic apothecary jar in the centerfrom Dalovice is labeled Con-serves of Rose; while the German

glass bottle on the right is labeled in alchemicalsymbols and Latin for Sweet Spirits of Nitre.

Spring adonis (Adonis vernalis) was intro-duced into medicine in 1879 as a heart tonic. Toemphasize the fact that potent drugs like Adonismust be measured accurately, the one Korunastamp also pictures a balance and double-endedspoon, circa 18th century.

The 1.20 koruna denomination illustratesvalerian (Valeriana officinalis), which has beenused since the 10th century in European home rem-edies for “nervous diseases peculiar to women.”The covered metal mortar and pestle in the centeris dated 1743, while the one on the right was madein 1752 for Prague apothecary A. F. Geyer.

The designers of the 1.80 koruna stamp

by George Griffenhagen*

*2501 Drexel St., Vienna, Virginia 22180.

Philatelic recognition of both national andinternational organizations and theirmeetings have gained favor during the

past quarter century. For international con-gresses, such recognition includes the hostcountry issuing commemorative postagestamps, stamped envelopes or postal cards, andmore frequently the use of pictorial postmarks.

Such philatelic commemoration has beenobtained by the International Society for theHistory of Pharmacy which wasfounded in 1926 in Innsbruck,Austria, as the Gesellschaft fürGeschichte der Pharmazie.Three years after its founding,the society held its first interna-tional congress in Berlin, Ger-many, May 2-5, 1929.

Early congresses were heldvariously in Austria, Germany, and Switzerlanduntil World War II when operations had to besuspended until 1949. The first InternationalCongress for the History of Pharmacy in Italywas held in 1954; later congresses were held inYugoslavia in 1959, in The Netherlands in1963, in England in 1965, in Greece in 1966,and in Luxembourg in 1969. But there is noevidence that there was any philatelic recogni-tion given to these congresses.

For the first time ever, the profession ofpharmacy was honored with the simultaneousissuance of six different postage stamps by asingle country. The set was issued by Czecho-

No. 1 7

went a little afield by featuringcommon chicory (Cichoriumintybus); it is not used in medi-cine but as a coffee substitute.More closely related to phar-macy are the retorts, cucurbites,circulatories, and alembics usedin the process of distillation.

The highest value (2.40koruna) depicts henbane (Hyos-cyamus niger) which has beenused as an anodyne and sedativefrom earliest times. The apoth-ecary equipment featured onthis stamp includes a l9th-cen-tury drug grinder and aWedgwood-type mortar andpestle.

There is no evidence thatphilatelic recognition was pro-vided at the 1977 Congress heldJune 7-11 in Innsbruck, Austria,but a notable pharmacist wasrecognized on the postmark de-veloped for the International

Congress of the History ofPharmacy held June 13 to 16 inBasel, Switzerland. The keynoteaddress by Lydia Mez-Mangoldat the session sponsored by thehonorary Academy was devotedto the life and times of JosefAnton Häfliger (1873-1954),whose portrait appears on thepostmark for the Congress.Häfliger was professor of phar-macy at the University of Basel,creator of the pharmaceutico-historical museum in Basel, andauthor of PharmazeutischeAltertumskunde (Basel, Switzer-land, 1931).

Once again, there was nospecial philatelic recognition ac-corded the 1981 InternationalCongress held in Budapest, Hun-gary, September 29 to October 5.

Most memorable to thisauthor (and perhaps to GlennSonnedecker) is the time wespent promoting attendance atthe 1983 Congress in Washing-ton, D.C. A jazz band signaledthe festive opening of the 26thInternational Congress for theHistory of Pharmacy in Wash-ington, D.C., September 21-25,1983, the first on American soil.

Some 200 participants from 20countries attended a welcomingreception with a decor of theOld West; enjoyed a concert atthe Kennedy Center; and at-tended a reception in the ro-tunda of the SmithsonianInstitution’s National Museumof American History. The phila-telic recognition consisted of acancel recreating a rare 1867mortar and pestle postmark; thedie was fashioned from corkpurchased at a pharmacy inWaterbury, Connecticut, bypostmaster John W. Hill. Thecachet on the envelope also de-picted Congress cancels fromPrague 1971, Bremen 1975, andBasel 1979.

The historic city ofGrenada, Spain, provided anideal setting for the 27th Inter-

national Congress for the His-tory of Pharmacy, held Septem-ber 25-29, 1985. Some 230 per-sons from 20 countries attendedthe Congress which was dedi-cated to George Urdang (1882-1960). The philatelic recogni-tion was a pictorial postmarkdepicting the official logo of theInternational Society for theHistory of Pharmacy.

The last philatelic recogni-tion (of which we are aware) forthe international history of phar-macy group was for the 30th In-ternational Congress for the

On To ParisSome 350 persons from 32

countries gathered in Paris,France, September 24-29, 1973,for the International Congressof History of Pharmacy. Thehost was the French Society forthe History of Pharmacy, whichwas marking its 60th anniver-sary. The philatelic recognitionwas a pictorial cancel depictingthe 17th-century coat-of-armsfor the Parisian apothecariesand spicers guild.

For the first time since1957, the International Con-gress of History of Pharmacyreturned to Germany for a meet-ing in Bremen, September 29 toOctober 5, 1975. Some 300 per-sons from 21 countries attendeda special art exhibit on the alle-gory of “Christ as Apothecary,”which opened at the Focke Mu-seum in conjunction with theCongress. The philatelic recog-nition was a pictorial depictingthe logo of the society.

8 Apothecary’s Cabinet

History of Pharmacy held inPrague, Czechoslovakia, April15-19, 1991. The pictorial post-mark depicts the bowl ofHygeia and pharmaceutical bal-ance surrounded by the outlineof a retort.

Any reader who has one ormore examples of philatelic rec-ognition for International Con-gresses for the History of Phar-macy not described in thisarticle is asked to send photo-copies to the author.

Student Membership

AIHP offers a special membership to students.Instead of the regular $50, students pay only$20 for a year’s membership. This membershipin the American Institute of the History ofPharmacy brings you the journal Pharmacy inHistory, a historical calendar, Apothecary’sCabinet, and at least one other publication ormonograph for the year. Consider joining, to learn about the pastand future of your profession. Send a check or credit card informa-tion (including the card number, MC or Visa, and expiration date),along with your intended date of graduation to: AIHP, 425 N.Charter St., Madison, WI 53706.

The lovely small city of Lucerne, Switzerland,will be the site of the 35th International Congressfor the History of Pharmacy, 19-22 September2001. Sponsored by the International Society for theHistory of Pharmacy, the Congress will include po-dium presentations, poster sessions, and symposia.A special event will celebrate the 75th anniversary ofthe Society. For more information, write: SGGP, c/oSchweizerischer Apothekerverein, Stationsstrasse 12,3097 Bern-Liebefeld, Switzerland.

A conference entitled, “Writing the Past, Claim-ing the Future: Women and Gender in Science,Medicine, and Technology,” will take place 12-15October 2000 in St. Louis, Missouri. Conferencethemes will include, but not be limited to, factors thatempower or inhibit women’s participation in the sci-entific, medical, and technological disciplines.“Writing the Past, Claiming the Future,” is designedto further conversations begun at previous confer-ences among historians of science, medicine, andtechnology. For more information, see the website athttp://womeninscience.slu.edu.

News & Notes

No. 1 9

PALMER Cox (1840-1924) had a successfulcareer as a cartoonist in San Francisco and NewYork before beginning work for the New YorkDaily Graphic in the 1870s. He contributed po-litical cartoons, wild slapstick, and delicate sat-ire, but in 1883 he developed a group of smallfigures that he called the “Brownies,” and theirimmediate success changed his career com-pletely. Not only did additional cartoons of theBrownies follow, but so also did commissionsfor children’s books and magazines, and forcommercial publications.

The Greenies at Homeby William H. Helfand

For the G. G. Green Company, ofWoodbury, New Jersey, and their chief prod-ucts, August Flower, German Syrup, and AgueConqueror, Cox developed an analogous groupof diminutive figures that he naturally calledthe “Greenies,” and their foreign adventureswere detailed in the Green’s August Flowerand German Syrup almanac of 1890. Furtherexploits of the Greenies were chronicled in al-manacs issued in 1896 and 1897. The Greenfirm then published Cox’s drawings separatelyin an 1890 booklet of “Wit and wisdom wellworth reading, containing the Greenies athome.” More than a dozen illustrations showthe Greenies in various activities, going toschool, sailing a boat, playing baseball, andone even has them studying the “materiamedica” where “from choicest root and herband flower, extracting all their wondrouspower, which they by processes profound, infamous medicines compound.” But the Greenbooklet was intended to show more than Cox’sdrawings alone, for a note under one of the il-lustrations admonishes the reader that “whileentertained by the pictures, remember that therest of the book is interesting too, though itdoes talk about medicine.”

10 Apothecary’s Cabinet

William Helfand of New York has selected 80 prints, draw-ings, and photographs from the Ars Medica Collection at the Phila-delphia Museum of Art for the third of a series of exhihibitions.Mr. Helfand prepared an illustrated and authoritatively annotatedcatalog to the exhibit, entitled “The Nightingale’s Song.” Publica-tion was underwritten by Bayada Nurses in association with theCenter for the Study of the History of Nursing at the University ofPennsylvania. The exhibit will be shown from August 26 to Octo-ber 29, 2000.

IN 1996 The University of Pitts-burgh School of Pharmacy dedi-cated their new Elmer H. GrimmPharmacy Museum, located inhistoric Salk Hall. Members of theGrimm family were instrumentalthroughout the development of the museum, named after Grimm, a 1919 alumnus of the school.

The pharmacy features a replica of a turn-of-the-century drugstore, and explores the history ofthe pharmacy profession. Alumni and friends of the School of Pharmacy generously established themuseum and continue to contribute artifacts and financial support.

A virtual museum as well as other interesting information from the history of pharmacy can beseen on their developing web site: http://rxweb.pharmacy.pitt.edu/museum/.

“The Shot Heard ‘Round the World:” The Development of the Salk Polio Vaccine 1947-1955 is a new exhibit that opened on April 15, 2000. A pictorial and textual timeline documents thedevelopment of the vaccine at University of Pittsburgh, telling the story of this important scientificadvance. Where paralytic poliomyelitis claimed 57,628 lives in 1952—the worst recorded polio epi-demic in U.S. history—the incidence of polio dropped by nearly 90% by 1958, three years after thevaccine was released. Much of the research for the vaccine took place in Salk Hall, and the exhibithonors in particular the Pittsburgh team led by Dr. Jonas Salk. Members of the Salk family attendedthe dedication.

Pharmacy in the Museum World

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Salk Exhibit at University ofPittsburgh Pharmacy Museum

No. 1 11

Glass Label Bottles inPharmacy

A significant change in the labeling ofglass shelfware came in the 1850s when glasslabels replaced paper labels formerly in use. Theglass label consisted of a curved piece of glasscemented over the paper label to keep it fromdiscoloring and subsequently deteriorating un-der use. From the time when the glass label wasintroduced, until its demise with the advent ofstandard light-resistant shelf bottles, the labeland the bottle that held it underwent manychanges.

The goal of the glass label was to providepermanence and durability. The inscription on abottle could be damaged by liquids beingpoured from the bottle, and the glass label wasdesigned to prevent this. Glass labels were pat-ented in England in the 1850s, but in the UnitedStates, the 1860s saw a number of patentedvariations. In 1867 the original U.S. patent wasreissued as two separate patents: one for the la-bel and one for the bottle. By this time glass la-bels were well known in the pharmacy. Through

the 1870s improved designs and methods formaking the label and the bottle were developed.Originally the glass label was as fragile as theinscription it was made to protect, and produc-tion was expensive. Economy and durabilitywere eventually achieved by improved methodsfor securing the label to the glass, and advancesin molding a recess on the bottle to hold the la-bel.

According to Griffenhagen and Bogard,“More permanent than the paper label, and lessexpensive than custom gold lettering, the glasslabel enhanced the uniform rows of tincturesand salt mouths that lined pharmacy shelves un-til the 1920s.” The eventual demise of the artis-tic and practical glass label resulted fromchanges in the practice of pharmacy. The fullstory of these bottles appears in GeorgeGriffenhagen and Mary Bogard’s book: His-

tory of Drug Containers and Their Labels. The150-page illustrated book is available from theAmerican Institute of the History of Pharmacy,425 N. Charter St., Madison, WI 53706 (608-262-5378, email books@aihp.org) for $19.95($11.95 for AIHP members).

What Is It?

See page 14 for the answer.

12 Apothecary’s Cabinet

COLLECTOR’S CORNER

FOR SALE: 1920s erahardwood McCourt Label Cabinet Co.(Bradford, PA) label cabinet. 16”H x28”L x 7”D. Four rows hold a total of62 labels (labels included). ContactClarke Ridgway, 1046 Koontz Ave.,Morgantown, WV 26505.

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: 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. SendSASE 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) 578-6382.

FOR SALE: Apothecary Antiques in-cluding drug jars, apothecary bottles,

WANTED: Show globes, fancy apoth-ecary bottles, porcelain jars, tradecatalogs, window pieces, patent medi-cines, and advertising. Mart James,487 Oakridge Rd., Dyersburg, TN38024; (901) 286-2025; e-mail:kjames@usit.net

WANTED: Books & journals onPharmacy (pre-1920), Pharmacognosy,Herbal/Botanic Medicine, Eclectic &Thomsonian Medicine, Phytochemis-try, & Ethnobotany. I will purchaseone title or entire libraries. DavidWinston, Herbalist & Alchemist

* * * * *

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.

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.

Books, 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.

AIHP WILL BE MOVING— Backissues of Pharmacy in History FORSALE, $2.50 per issues (that’s $5 offthe cover price). For a complete list ofavailable issues, see our website(www.aihp.org) or call (608)262-5378.

No. 1 13

by David L. CowenLe Coquetier

The pharmacist’s knowledge of leaves,roots, berries, flavors, syrups, and car-bonation had an impact on society that

went quite beyond pharmaceutical services. Outof the American pharmacy came “soft drinks,”the “soda,” and the “pop” that were to affect thedrinking habits of men and women worldwide.

In 1875 Charles E. Hires, a pharmacist inPhiladelphia, created a concoction of sarsapa-rilla and other herbs called “Hire’s Root Beer.”It was the first soft drink to achieve nationalpopularity. But it was the cola drinks that ful-filled the prediction, in 1883, that when the kolanut was “once introduced as a beverage in civi-lized societies, the demand for it would soon be-come enormous.” In the 1880s the physician-pharmacist, John S. Pemberton, sold a populardrink he called “Pemberton’s French WineCoca” in his drugstore in Atlanta, Georgia.Originally composed of the extract of coca leaf,

wine, and kola nut, it was renamed “Coca Cola”(with syrup replacing the wine). In the 1890sCaleb D. Bradham, a pharmacist in New Bern,North Carolina, offered his soda fountain pa-trons “Brad’s drink,” trade-marked in 1902 as“Pepsi-Cola.” Other beverages originated in the

pharmacy; among them, “Dr. Pepper,” the cre-ation of a young Charles Alderton working inMorrison’s Old Corner Drug Stores in Waco,Texas. It entered a wider market in 1885. Andthere was “Canada Dry Pale Dry Ginger Ale,”which originated as “McLaughlin’s” in 1904,the work of John J. McLaughlin, a Torontopharmacist.

What is less well known, however, is thatpharmacy has been credited with introducingmore than “soft” drinks. The introduction of theubiquitous American cocktail has also beencredited to pharmacy. Antoine Peychaud, a lateeighteenth-century New Orleans apothecary dis-pensed tonics of cognac and his own Peychaudbitters. The concoction was served in acoquetier—an egg cup. This, it is believed, wasat least the etymological origin of the “cocktail.”

14 Apothecary’s Cabinet

pharmacist (n.) A person skilled orengaged in pharmacy; one whoprepares or dispenses medi-cines; a druggist or pharmaceu-tical chemist.

apothecary (n.) 1. orig. One who kept a store or shop of non-perishable commodities, spices, drugs, comfits,preserves, etc. (This passed at an early period to the next: in 1617 the Apothecaries’ Company of London wasseparated from the Grocers’ Company.) 2. spec. The earlier name for: One who prepared and sold drugs formedicinal purposes--the business now (since about 1800) conducted by a druggist or pharmaceutical chemist.From about 1700 apothecaries gradually took a place as general medical practitioners, and the modern apoth-ecary holds this status legally, by examination and license of the Apothecaries’ Company, but in popularusage the term is archaic.

This is a Konseal apparatus, sold by the J. M Grosvenor Company ofBoston beginning in the 1880s. In the 1870s, the French pharmacistStanislas Limousin (1831-1887) invented cachets—small spoon-shapedrimmed disks of rice-paper. (Cachet is from the French cacher—“tohide.”) Nasty tasting powdered drugs were placed inside one concave ca-chet, water applied to the rim and another cachet was placed on top, seal-ing the medicine within. This oral dosage form had a brief period ofpopularity before the general availability of gelatin capsules supplantedit.

The Konseal apparatus consisted of three perforated, nickel-platedmetal plates, hinged together to form a cover plate, a base plate, and ashield plate. Saucer-shaped rice-flour Konseals (brand-named cachets)were pressed into the perforations on the cover (A) and base plates (E),while the shield plate (C) was folded back to protect the sealing edges ofthe Konseals in the base plate. The Konseals in the base plate are filledwith the help of special funnels, and are tamped down with thimble com-pressors. The shield plate is lifted, and a moistened roller is passed overthe edges of the empty Konseals in the cover plate (as shown on page11), which is closed over the base plate, sealing the Konseals.

Although cachets are all but forgotten today, Limousin secured hisenduring fame as the inventor of the ampul (1886).

drug (n.) 1a. An original, simple,medicinal substance, organic orinorganic, whether used by itselfin its natural condition or pre-pared by art, or as an ingredientin a medicine or medicament.Formerly used more widely toinclude all ingredients used inchemistry, pharmacy, dyeing,and the arts generally, as still inFrench. In early use always inthe plural.

What is it?

Drachms & ScruplesPharmaceutical terms according to the Oxford English Dictionary

scruple (n.) 1. A unit of weight = 20grains, 1/3 drachm, 1/24 oz.Apothecaries' weight.

drachm (n.) 2. A weight approxi-mately equivalent to that of theGreek coin. Hence, in Apoth-ecaries' weight = 60 grains, or1/8 of an ounce, in Avoirdupoisweight = 27 1/3 grains or 1/16of an ounce. (Spelt drachm ordram.)

No. 1 15

100 Years Ago

75 Years Ago

50 Years Ago

25 Years Ago

EDITED BY GREG HIGBY

A Backward Glance atAmerican Pharmacy

“The committee on coinage, weights and measures of the House of Representatives is again consider-ing the subject of the adoption of the metric system of weights and measures as the legal system of theUnited States. . . . Probably no class of persons would be more benefited by the adoption of this mea-sure than the pharmacists of this country, hampered and annoyed as they now are by being compelled touse avoirdupois and apothecaries’ weight, wine measure, and, in some sections, imperial measure, aswell as the metric system. Since the foundation of the Republic there probably has never been a timewhen the importance of this subject was more apparent than it is at present. With the acquirement ofnew territory in distant parts of the world, and the increase of our commerce with foreign nations, a uni-versal system of weights and measures become more than ever desirable.” (American Druggist, vol. 36(February 10, 1900): 71.)

“Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pa., will add a School of Pharmacy to its departments in Septemberof this year. The number of students will be limited. Three and four year courses will be offered. Thethree-year course, leading to the degree of Graduate in Pharmacy, will train men as prescriptionists, forstore management and for hospital dispensing as well as for the general work of the retail pharmacy.Due consideration will be given to both professional and commercial aspects of pharmacy. The four-year courses, leading to the degrees of Pharmaceutical Chemist and Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy,will give additional training in pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing and control work, analyti-cal chemistry, bacteriology, and in food, drug and water analysis. . . . An adequate faculty is now beingorganized.” (American Druggist, vol. 73 (June 1925): 43.)

“The first industrial installation of an electron accelerator--popularly called an atom smasher--has justbeen completed in the research laboratories of The Upjohn Company, Kalamazoo, Mich. Because thehigh-energy radiations of the instrument can penetrate thick sections of steel, the Upjohn equipment isenclosed in five tons of iron bricks to protect personnel. Its potential usefulness in the sterilization ofdrugs led the Upjohn Company to undertake this tremendous and expensive installation. It is possiblethat the usefulness of high-speed electrons may go far beyond mere sterilization, perhaps increase anti-biotic yields through mutation of antibiotic-producing molds. Upjohn’s Research Division, however,has made it very plain that all this is still in the research stage.” (Journal of the American Pharmaceuti-cal Association, PPE, vol. 11 (1950): 450, 452.)

“The U. S. has enough pharmacists ‘to serve effectively the current demand for traditional pharmaceuti-cal services.’ But new kinds of pharmaceutical services are becoming important to the nation’s health,and an increase in manpower may be needed to provide them. These are among the highlights of a for-mal statement on health manpower policy just issued by the American Association of Colleges of Phar-macy. The statement is intended to make clear the position against which AACP will measure the manyhealth manpower proposals coming out of Congress and regulatory agencies.” (American Druggist, vol.171 (April 1, 1975): 24.)

16 Apothecary’s Cabinet

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

425 N. Charter St., Madison, WI 53706-1508Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDMadison, Wisconsin

Permit No. 881

Call for Papers

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

March 16-20, 2001San Francisco, CA

Titles and 200-word abstracts for 15-minute podium presenta-tion must be received by October 1, 2000 (note new deadline).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 of-fice at 608-262-5378 or email: papers@aihp.org