About the museum
The Museum of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society maintains
important collections representing the history, science and practice
of pharmacy and the development of the profession in Britain. Since
the museum's establishment in 1842, the collections have grown to about
45,000
items. Representative items are displayed in showcases in selected
parts of the Society’s headquarters building. Members and their
guests can access these displays.
The collections also form an invaluable resource for researchers.
They include:
• A fine collection of English pharmaceutical
delftware
• Other ceramic items, including feeders, leech jars and pot lids
• An extensive collection of mortars, including outstanding examples
of bell-metal mortars
• Pharmaceutical glassware, silver, pewter and treen used for storage,
dispensing and display
• Instruments used for weighing and measuring in pharmacy
• Prints, paintings, photographs and ephemera illustrating pharmaceutical
and medical subjects
• Parts of the reference collection of materia medica for which the
collection was originally formed
• Many proprietary medicines, the earliest from the 1700s
Most of the items are kept stored off-site. However, the
museum’s plans focus on developing the collection’s potential
as a resource for learning, for schoolchildren, university students,
community groups and web-users and through loans to other museums.
Further information on the museum and its services can be obtained from:
The museum office
Tel +44 (0)20 7572 2210
e-mail museum@rpsgb.org
The museum
section of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's website |
Replica jars available for purchase from Museum
Hand-finished replicas of seven ceramic jars from the collections
of the museum of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society are available for purchase
from the Society:
•Leech jars £50
copies of a fine example of a 19th century glazed earthenware show jar for
leeches, 15cm high with a circumference of 15.5cm
•Drug storage jars £56
replicas of a pot used for storing candied orange peel, bearing the inscription “C:
CORT: AUR”, which is an abbreviation of the Latin “Conditus Cortex
Aurantiorum”, 16cm high
•Syrup jars £86
copies of a jar bearing the inscription “S ROSAR. CU AG”, an abbreviation
of the Latin “Syrupus Rosaceus Solutivus cum Agarico” (solutive
syrup of rose with agaric), 18cm high
•Pill jars £25
replicas of a multicoloured jar bearing the date 1723 and the inscription “P
COCH MAJ”, an abbreviation of the Latin for cochia major pills, 8.5cm
high
•Viper lozenge jars £25
copies of a late 17th century jar inscribed “T DE VIPER”, an abbreviation
of the Latin for viper lozenges, coral lozenges and extract of Peruvian bark,
decorated in blue with Apollo and two peacocks, 8.5cm high
•Coral lozenge jars £25
replicas of a jar inscribed “T DE CARABE”, an abbreviation of the
Latin for coral lozenges, dated 1674 and with a design in blue showing an angel
with outstretched wings, 8.5cm high
•Extract jars £25
copies of an 18th century jar inscribed “EXT CORT PERU”, an abbreviation
of the Latin for extract of Peruvian bark (cinchona) and decorated in blue
with songbirds, 8.5cm high
  
The jars are available by mail order from the museum. Full
details and an order form can be downloaded from the museum
section of the Society’s website, which also has photographs
of the jars. Alternatively, orders can be placed by contacting the museum
(tel 020 7572 2210; e-mail museum@rpsgb.org).
The mail order postal charge within the UK is £22, which covers up to
five leech or drug jars or two syrup jars. Postage charges for Europe and the
rest of the world are given on the order form or are available by contacting
the museum.
The jars and other merchandise, including cards
and books, can also be bought in person from the library at the Society's
headquarters during normal working hours. |
Postcards
The greeting cards and postcards feature images from the
museum’s collections, including botanical illustrations, advertisements,
photographs and cartoons.
Full details and an order form can be downloaded from the museum
section of the Society’s website.
  
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