Other London Collections: Museum of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society

Museum of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society

London tin-glazed earthenware drug or display jar, with the coat of arms of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London. 40cm high, dated 1647

The Museum of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society has collections of glass and ceramics that combine functionality and decorative art. Pharmacists have always needed storage containers, and the Museum's holdings include a significant collection of tin-glazed drug jars from the 1600s, and of bottles from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries.

It also has a strong collection of magnificent show jars and carboys, as well as a range of more practical items from biscuitware mortars and glass measures, to medicine spoons and syringes.

Highlights of the collection:

• About 40,000 items, mostly donated by individual pharmacists, with a small proportion on display in cases located throughout the Society's offices.
• Large collection of English and continental delftware drug jars
• Display glassware, carboys and show jars
• Pill tiles, leech jars, medicine spoons, measures and mortars in ceramic and glass
• Large collection of ointment and cosmetic pots in delftware and other fabrics

Address: 1 Lambeth High Street, London SE1 7JN

Tel: 020 7572 2210; Fax: 020 7572 2499

Email: museum@rpharms.com

Website: www.rpharms.com

Opening times: Displays - Monday to Friday, 9.00 to 5.00, guided tours Tues, 2.00 and 4.00 (by appointment - ring 020 7572 2210 to book); research visits during office hours Mon to Fri by appointment.

Admission: Free; fees apply for some research services

Access: Partial access for disabled visitors

Publications:

Crellin, J K, 1969 Medical ceramics in the Wellcome Institute, vol 1, London: Wellcome Institute of the History of Medicine

Crellin, J K and Scott, JR 1972 Glass and British Pharmacy 1600-1900: a survey and guide to the Wellcome Collection of British Glass, London: Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine

Drey, R E A, 1978 Apothecary jars: pharmaceutical pottery and porcelain in Europe and the East 1150-1850, London: Faber & Faber

Howard, G E, 1931 Early English drug jars [includes a description of the author's personal collection, of which a substantial part is now held by the museum of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, and a useful 'glossary of the drugs inscribed on the jars in this collection' compiled by C J S Thompson], London: The Medici Society

Lothian, A, 1960 'English Delftware in the Pharmaceutical Society's collection: a paper read by Agnes Lothian at 17 Bloomsbury Square, London on November 12th 1958', Transactions of the English Ceramic Circle 5, part 1

Matthews, L G, 1971 The Antiques of Pharmacy, London: G Bell & Sons

Links to Museum of London Ceramics and Glass website:

• Tin-glazed ware
• Mass produced ceramics
• Medical, pharmaceutical and scientific glass