Pharmacy History

This collection of photographs records the history of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and marks the fact that the development of photography and pharmacy are closely linked. The pictures illustrate different periods of development in pharmacy and are grouped accordingly.

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This work contains some of the earliest and most interesting pictures from the historical collection of the museum of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Although a considerable part of this unique photographic archive is devoted to the Society's own history and activities, this publication will give some indication of the far wider scope of the collection. It is particularly appropriate, as the Society reaches its 150th anniversary, to show these evocative images of the past. The history of pharmacy and photography in this country is closely linked. The Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain was formally established less than two years after Louis Daguerre's announcement of his successful photographic experiments, and at a time when photography was becoming a practical and popular commercial success. Many pharmacologists, in particular Sir Joseph Swan of Newcastle upon Tyne, made significant contributions to the development of photography in Britain by inventing new or improved processes, and through the supply of the requisite chemicals and apparatus to the growing number of amateur photographers.
The Society itself began to use photographs in its promotional material for its School of Pharmacy and to provide mementos for staff and students. Photographs of the Society's headquarter buildings in Bloomsbury Square began with a series taken after renovations to the building in 1883/84. From the early years of this century, a major part of this archive was used to illustrate "The Pharmaceutical Journal". The pictures in this book represent each period in pharmacy's developing relationship with photography. Over the years the process has increasingly provided a highly effective means of illustration, record-keeping and promotion for the Society. The photographs are grouped into appropriate categories, each with a brief introduction. Indexes of photgraphs and photographers complete the work.