The Philadelphia College of Pharmacy holds an extensive and unique collection of medicinal products and prescriptions from across the Philadelphia region beginning in the mid-nineteenth century. Visible on each bottle in the “Philadelphiana” collection is a label or embossment explicitly indicating a Philadelphia-based address or the city’s name. The bottles and medicines displayed here were sold by Philadelphia-based pharmacists and druggists or manufactured in local plants and laboratories. This collection showcases Philadelphia’s rich history of independent pharmacy practice and pharmaceutical manufacturing. This collection of Philadelphia-based bottles and medicines illustrates several threads in the history of pharmacy: the evolution from individually- and family-owned operations in the mid- and late nineteenth century to corporate, globalized production and distribution by the end of the twentieth century; the interweaving of pharmaceutical manufacturing with that of other trades, such as the construction and garment industries; and the persisting embeddedness of Philadelphia College of Pharmacy education in pharmacy expertise in the region.
This project is made possible in part by Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA)
funds from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services and through the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Library Access funds administered by the
Pennsylvania Department of Education, Office of Commonwealth Libraries.
The views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this website
do not necessarily represent those of the U.S. Institute of Museum
and Library Services or the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
