The Kentucky
Renaissance Pharmacy Museum Board has learned of a dazzling signature
piece of Kentucky pharmacy history. Consistent with our mission of
fostering the development and preservation of the history of pharmacy
within Kentucky; disseminating such information and thereby contributing
to a greater understanding of the history of pharmacy within the state,
the museum is launching an Acquisition and Preservation Campaign.
The museum was recently
made aware of an exceptional opportunity for the museum and the
profession, a late 1800 Kentucky pharmacy. It is complete
with contents in a building as it was when it was closed over 3 decades
ago.
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Front end shelving
in the early arts and crafts, Eastlake style (the period of the
Louis Tiffany).
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Decorative
pediments showcasing tiles of extraordinary quality believed to be
Rookwood pottery of Ohio, the foremost pottery company of the 'Arts
and Craft' period.
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Pharmacognosy area
with more than 30 drawers that have porcelain pulls painted with the
Latin name of the chemical often still contained inside the drawer.
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The pharmacy area,
typical of the period, has leaded glass windows on each side of the
pharmacy window.
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The compounding
area holds a wide array of chemical containers of from various
time periods; most significant are numerous glass labels bottles
which are
reverse painted in various sizes with the chemicals intact.
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Pharmacy records
and resources are found throughout the pharmacy.
This is a highly
significant find and opportunity for the our profession’s Museum
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Such a significant
find will not be found in our state again.
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In the last 10
years, we have found only 6 similar types of pharmacies, but none
this complete.
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Besides this find,
another pharmacy, similar in age, different in style, has been
dismantled and stored after that pharmacy was remodeled in the
1960’s.
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One pharmacy was
destroyed when the hosting museum burned.
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The other three,
have been purchased.
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One auctioned over
eBay, shelving only, sold in-tact and shipped to a private party in
New York State.
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The remaining two
were sold off in pieces and are scattered throughout the United
States.
Our Campaign target
for this property is $75,000
-
Acquisition cost at
$50,000 for this pharmacy is consistent with its age, quality and
completeness and comparable to the sale of such relics in recent
years. Moving, reassembly, preserving and conserving are estimated
at an additional $25,000.
-
The agents of the
estate have given our museum an excellent opportunity to preserve
the legacy of our profession but have other individuals highly
interested in securing its purchase.
-
If the Museum is to
secure and preserve the significant piece of pharmacy history, we
will need financial support from fellow practitioners as well as
employers, industry, and foundations for historical preservation.
The Museum has less
than a 90 day window to secure funding. the building is currently
unsecured and is condemned and earmarked for demolition.
As with any new museum,
long term sustainability is a major focus of our museum and extremely
important as the Pharmacy profession continues to move more rapidly into
newer work environments hastening the lost of the profession’s legacy.
New practitioners and patients today often do not remember a pharmacy
without a computer, much less the practice elements before the 1970.
As pharmacy continues
to grow into new roles, it is now time to acquire and preserve the
heritage of the profession. The acquisition, preservation and
conservation of the significant relics of the profession will promote
the appreciation of the history of pharmacy within Kentucky as well as
an awareness that this historical legacy serves as the foundation of
today’s profession.
Your support is great
appreciated.
| Mission |
| |
| To contribute to the
understanding, development and history of |
| Pharmacy in Kentucky
|
| by |
| fostering the
preservation and dissemination of knowledge |
| concerning its history for
public information. |
