Apothecary Shop
Encyclopedia
The Apothecary Shop is a building at the Shelburne Museum
in Shelburne, Vermont
that exhibits objects salvaged from New England
pharmacies that were closing in the early decades of the 20th century. The main room contains dried herbs, spices, drugs, and labeled glass apothecary bottles from the nineteenth century, as well as early patent medicines, medical equipment, cosmetics
, and a collection of barbers’ razors. The compounding room, with its brick hearth, copper distilleries, and percolators replicates an illustration found in Edward Parrish
’s 1871 Treatise on Pharmacy.
constructed the Apothecary Shop as an addition to the General Store. Inside the display shelves, pill press, and other professional tools create the appearance of an operating druggist’s shop between 1870 and 1900. The glass vessels displayed in the front windows are symbols of the apothecary
trade: the red fluid represents arterial blood while the blue represents venous blood
.
Prior to the Civil War, druggists gathered and dried herbs, primed them for medicinal use through the process of grinding or distillation
, then combined the prepared herbs with sugar, lard, alcohol and other substances to create tablets, ointments, and elixirs. While these practices continued into the late nineteenth century, druggists gradually responded to an ever-greater demand for patent medicines as customers began to prefer brightly labeled cure-alls to herbal remedies. Passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act
in 1906 marked the beginning of the modern drugstore and the end of the apothecary
shop.
Shelburne Museum
Shelburne Museum is a museum of art and Americana located in Shelburne, Vermont, United States. Over 150,000 works are exhibited in 39 exhibition buildings, 25 of which are historic and were relocated to the Museum grounds...
in Shelburne, Vermont
Shelburne, Vermont
Shelburne is a town in southwestern Chittenden County, Vermont, United States, along the shores of Lake Champlain. The population was 7,144 at the 2010 census.-History:...
that exhibits objects salvaged from New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
pharmacies that were closing in the early decades of the 20th century. The main room contains dried herbs, spices, drugs, and labeled glass apothecary bottles from the nineteenth century, as well as early patent medicines, medical equipment, cosmetics
Cosmetics
Cosmetics are substances used to enhance the appearance or odor of the human body. Cosmetics include skin-care creams, lotions, powders, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail and toe nail polish, eye and facial makeup, towelettes, permanent waves, colored contact lenses, hair colors, hair sprays and...
, and a collection of barbers’ razors. The compounding room, with its brick hearth, copper distilleries, and percolators replicates an illustration found in Edward Parrish
Edward Parrish
Edward Parrish was an American pharmacist. He was the first president of Swarthmore College.-Biography:...
’s 1871 Treatise on Pharmacy.
History
In 1959 the Shelburne MuseumShelburne Museum
Shelburne Museum is a museum of art and Americana located in Shelburne, Vermont, United States. Over 150,000 works are exhibited in 39 exhibition buildings, 25 of which are historic and were relocated to the Museum grounds...
constructed the Apothecary Shop as an addition to the General Store. Inside the display shelves, pill press, and other professional tools create the appearance of an operating druggist’s shop between 1870 and 1900. The glass vessels displayed in the front windows are symbols of the apothecary
Apothecary
Apothecary is a historical name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist and some caregivers....
trade: the red fluid represents arterial blood while the blue represents venous blood
Venous blood
Venous blood is deoxygenated blood in the circulatory system. It runs in the systemic veins from the organs to the heart. Deoxygenated blood is then pumped by the heart to lungs via the pulmonary arteries, one of the few arteries in the body that carries deoxygenated blood .Venous blood is...
.
Prior to the Civil War, druggists gathered and dried herbs, primed them for medicinal use through the process of grinding or distillation
Distillation
Distillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in volatilities of components in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction....
, then combined the prepared herbs with sugar, lard, alcohol and other substances to create tablets, ointments, and elixirs. While these practices continued into the late nineteenth century, druggists gradually responded to an ever-greater demand for patent medicines as customers began to prefer brightly labeled cure-alls to herbal remedies. Passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act
Pure Food and Drug Act
The Pure Food and Drug Act of June 30, 1906, is a United States federal law that provided federal inspection of meat products and forbade the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated food products and poisonous patent medicines...
in 1906 marked the beginning of the modern drugstore and the end of the apothecary
Apothecary
Apothecary is a historical name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist and some caregivers....
shop.