The Pharmacy History Show organised by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's museum on the afternoon of Saturday, June 3, attracted 180 visitors of all ages, many of whom arrived for the 1pm start and stayed until the close at 5pm.
The afternoon gave the public a rare weekend chance to see the museum's displays and sample a programme of short talks and demonstrations spread over three floors of the Society's headquarter building.
Talks were given by assistant curator Lorraine Jones and three members of the British Society for the History of Pharmacy. Ms Jones spoke on local Lambeth industries. Mr Peter Homan had a full house for "Patent medicines and secret remedies", as did Dr Melvyn Earles for "The apothecary in Shakespeare's time". Mr David Nunn illustrated his talk on "Plants in medicine" with a selection of freshly picked specimens from his own garden. Mr Roger Odd rounded off the afternoon by leading a discussion on issues in modern pharmacy.
In Tudor costume, Ms Jo Castle and Mr Peter Gregory gave a running demonstration of the "apothecary's art", scenting the building with a table of pungent spices for visitors to handle and discuss. Victorian pharmacy skills were demonstrated by Mr Homan, Mr Geoff Dempsey, Ms Jones and the museum's most recent recruit, Miss Lisa Randall.
Museum curator Caroline Reed and paper conservator Sarah Bunn held advice sessions on caring for precious antiques, books and family mementos.
Ms Reed told The Journal afterwards that the museum was particularly grateful to the BSHP speakers and the volunteer stewards (Mrs Chris Homan, Mr Ainley Wade, and Dr Shirley Ellis), all of whom had given up their afternoon to make the event a resounding success.
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Left, Jo Castle (left) demonstrates the apothecary's art; centre, a young visitor tries her hand at pill-making, supervised by Geoff Dempsey; right, David Nunn with some of his visual aids |
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