When I have time to spare I go on Ebay and search:
"pharmaceutical"
"apothecary"
"medical advertising"

There are so many arcane things there ! Lots of rep pens, and assorted junk, but on every page or so are some very old, and some European treatment tools, and containers.

I am embarking on some watercolor/drawings, based on old prescriptions (I have 4 files from the long past I've purchased at antique sellers), so I visit Ebay and copy photos that I cannot afford to buy to use as subject reference photos.

This is one of my older works, with REAL cocaine RXs from long ago...it is gone...purchased by a doctor. At one time before topical anesthetics like benzocaine and lidocaine, cocaine was all there was and it was used for topical pain, and rectal problems.

It provides some perspective of where we are today compared to in the late 1800's and early 1900's. One can see the development of Big Pharma which abandoned some useful remedies for what we have now, some of which are less useful.

I remember when I was in college, in the late 1960's and was very ill with spells of pain etc. , with what turned out to be a congenital malrotation of the GI tract, leading to obstructions and pain. I was given an RX then for 100 Atropine tab triturates, which cost me 90 cents a semester! They dissolved under my tongue for fast relief and prevented further GI damage and surgeries. The stress and the dorm food were very hard on my GI tract...esp coffee! Last week I found the original bottle from those times.... going for $15.00 + shipping..empty of course.
I just saved the photo.

For those here who enjoy vintage things, history, and have a curiosity beyond their own painful situation, may find some diversion in visiting the Ebay site and reading.

I now have a small collection of arcane objects, old tins and containers of remedies, and some old apothecary weights (some look like coins). I only can afford some things, but over the past year my collection is growing and my photo files are growing too.

I read a very good book this summer:
The Apothecary's Daughter by Julie Klassen
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...ary-s-daughter
While it begins like a "chick" book, it is filled with detail about
a mid 1800 Victorian England life and apothecary including the trials of survival. I found it really an interesting read, once I got past the superficial beginning. It is a "sleeper" book that sneaks up on you!

Thanks for reading. I hope some do check out what I am posting about, as it really puts our current lives in a sort of perspective.