Dose of History – Pharmacy and the Holidays

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Drugstores nowadays are not generally considered the best place to do your Thanksgiving shopping. In 1929, however, one columnist writing for the trade magazine Druggist’s Circular argued otherwise: “in the pharmacopeia […] will be found cloves, cinnamon, pepper, nutmegs, lemon peel, and orange peel. Then, too, coriander, anise, celery seed, dill, allspice and mace”. Indeed, until the 1930s or so a large amount of medicine consisted of dried plant matter–many of which are now used almost exclusively as spices and herbs rather than medicine–and it was the pharmacist’s role to know how to properly identify, prescribe, and prepare these plants. To this end, pharmaceutical companies sold cases full of organized and labelled botanicals known as materia medica to schools of pharmacy in order to teach students how to handle these plants. As the industrialization and standardization of manufacturing progressed, these botanical remedies were increasingly supplanted by pills, tablets, and syrups, meaning that the modern-day pharmacy may no longer have the best spice selection in town.  

Loose Pressed Rosemary Leaves crude drug packet from S.B. Penick & Co. Crude Drugs. View the item in our digital collection.
Parsley Leaves crude drug packet from Murray & Nickell Mfg. Co. View the item in our digital collection.
Loose Pressed Thyme Leaves crude drug packet frm S.B. Penick & Co. Crude Drugs. View the item in our digital collection.
Loose Pressed Peppermint Herb crude drug packet from Allaire, Woodward & Co. View the item in our digital collection.
Eli Lilly Cinnamon Specimen Jar. View the item in our digital collection.

If you are interested in yesterday’s pharmaceuticals you can view more images of the materia medica, as well as several examples of early nineteenth century botanicals, in our digital collection the Digital Collections of the Edward Kremers Research Library and Archive.

Parke Davis Materia Medica Cabinet. View the item in our digital collection.

This Dose of History was brought to you by AIHP Intern, Leo Ryan.

Bibliography:

“The Pharmacist Can Supply Spices and Sauces For Thanksgiving”. Druggist’s Circular, November, 1929. 20.

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January, 21, 2026, 11:00 am (Central): Pharmacy History Working Group: Spring Semester Welcome Back Event: A critical reading of Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls, hosted by Kelly O'Donnell, Towson Unviersity.
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