Tools of the Trade
Explore the process of developing and marketing medicines; from medicinal ingredients, research and clinical trials, branding, packaging, and advertising.
Apothecary Trade Tokens, 1648-1678
These trade tokens would have been issued to customers by apothecaries in lieu of small change. These tokens are embossed with the names and towns ...
Baker lacquered brass monocular microscope, around 1870
This lacquered brass monocular microscope is marked ‘Baker, 244 High Holborn, London’, indicating that it was made by the microscope manufacturer Charles Baker. The microscope was ...
Boxwood Pill Finisher
Pills formed on a pill tile or made by a pill machine were not perfectly round. A pill finisher, a wooden disc with a raised ...
Boxwood Pill Silverer, 1800s
A pill silverer was used to coat newly-made pills. The cheapest pills were coated with talc but wealthier clients bought pills coated in silver or ...
Ceramic Porringer, 1730
Ceramic, tin-glazed earthenware, bowl with one flat 5-lobed handle. White glaze with design in blue. Decorated with flowers and bird. Inscription ‘B.S.1730’ Porringers were ...
Culpeper-type compound microscope, around 1760
This microscope is based on a design developed by Edward Culpeper between 1725 and 1730. The body tube was used for focusing. On the base, instead of ...
DeVilbiss No15 Administration Aid, 1920-1930
This DeVilbiss No 15 was a type of apparatus designed for administering medicines to the nose and throat of patients. The aid includes the spray attachment, ...
Display Specie Jar
Large glass specie jars were used for attractive and dramatic display in chemists shops in the late 1800s. They were advertised in the catalogue of ...
English Bell-Metal Mortar and Pestle, inscribed ‘THOMAS PIGEON 1639’. Manufactured at an unidentified foundry, Coventry, Warwickshire
English bell-metal mortar and pestle, manufactured at an unidentified foundry in Coventry, Warwickshire. The mortar rim is inscribed ‘THOMAS PIGEON 1639’, with the ‘S’ and ‘N’ ...
English Bell-Metal Mortar, inscribed ‘1631 HENRYE NEALE MADE MEE’ and ‘A B S’. Manufactured at the Neale Foundry, Burford, Oxfordshire
English bell-metal mortar, manufactured by Henry Neale at The Neale Foundry in Burford, Oxfordshire in 1631. The waist, just under the rim, is inscribed ‘1631 HENRYE NEALE ...