The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 269 No 7221 p626
26 October 2002

Society summary

Museum information sheets now available as downloads from Society’s website

A range of illustrated information sheets on the history of the preparation of medicines in the pharmacy can now be downloaded as PDF files from the museum section of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s website (www.rpsgb.org.uk/museum).

The 10 double-sided, A4-sized, information sheets, written for the museum by Peter Homan, FRPharmS, cover “Drug preparation and extraction”, “Secundum artem: the skill of the apothecary and pharmacist”, “Liquid medicines and medicine bottles”, “Lozenges and pastilles”, “Suppositories, pessaries and bougies”, “Ointments, creams and plasters”, “Pills and pill-making”, “Powders and cachets”, “Capsules and tablets” and “Patent and brand name medicines”.

The illustrations on the information sheets are mainly drawn from images available as postcards from the museum.

Briony Hudson, keeper of the museum collections, said: “These information sheets are a first step towards increasing the information about the museum’s collections and historical resources available on the website. Virtual access to the museum’s objects and expertise is just one of the ways in which museum staff are planning to communicate the educational and research potential of the collections”.

Copies of the information sheets are also available by post. Requests should be telephoned to 020 7572 2210 or e-mailed to museum@rpsgb.org.uk.