Hi Bill,
I can't comment on several of the books. I am very familiar with the
first citation, although it is an earlier edition than I have. "Kremers and
Urdrang's History of Pharmacy" is now in its 4th edition if not 5th. It is
used as a textbook for teaching the history of pharmacy and I would rate it
as excellent, although it is somewhat peripheral to archaeology. It might
be of interest to you if you were involved in an excavation with an excess
of pharmaceutical artifacts. The full reference is Glenn Sonnedecker,
"Kremers and Urdrang's History of Pharmacy", 4th Edition, J. B. Lippincott
Company, Philadelphia, 1976. (I suspect there must be a more recent edition
or two, and I believe Sonnedecker is still the editor/author.)
I am not familiar with the other references and they are not cited by King
(see below). I have seen references to the Blue Book, which I would love to
locate and buy if affordable. Such primary sources put out by the
pharmaceutical industry in the 19th century are likely to carry information
on the popular patent medicines and manufacturers. I do have a reprinting
of part of the Meyer Bros. & Co. 1887 catalog which I find useful and it
might be easier to locate than the Blue Book. The reference is "Patent
Medicines and Proprietary Articles: A Reproduction of a Section of the Meyer
Bros. and Co. Wholesale Drug Catalog of 1887", with an introduction by Jack
K. Rimalover, Publ. by Stonybrook Associates, Princeton Junction, New
Jersey, 1970. This gives prices and helps to identify whether patent
medicines were in popular use in 1887.
LaWall is cited by Holbrook in "The Golden Age of Quackery." The fuller
reference is Charles H. Le Wall, Four Thousand Years of Pharmacy, 1927.
One reference for identifying the key materials in the history of
pharmacy is a book by King. Ref. Nydia M. King, "A Selection of Primary
Sources for the History of Pharmacy in the United States: Books and Trade
Catalogs from the Colonial Period to 1940", published by the American
Institute of the History of Pharmacy (AIHP), Madison, WI, 1940. This is a
123 page paperback and affordable by my standards. The books cited by King
are in the AIHP's library at the Univ. of Wisconsin. I have been able to
borrow several of these great original sources on interlibrary loan through
the AIHP on microfiche.
Sorry, I couldn't be more helpful.
Allen (P.S. not "Alan")
-----Original Message-----
From: LOCKHART BILL <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Wednesday, March 27, 2002 12:20 PM
Subject: Book Questions
Hi Alan,
I ran across these partial bibliographies in an interesting book
called (if my
memory is correct) Old Drug Store Days. Are any of these worth reading? If
so, do
you have any more compete bibliographies?
Thanks,
Bill
Urdang, Kremers and George Urdang
? The History of Pharmacy.
LaWall, Charles H.
? 4,000 Years of Pharmacy.
Arthur, William R.
? Drugs and Druggists.
Wykes-Joyce, Max
? Cosmetics and Adornment.
Vail, Gilbert
? A History of Cosmetics in America.
The Era Blue Book – Druggist Catalogue – 1899
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