The General Apothecaries Company, (limited).

  • General Apothecaries Company (London, England)
Date:
[1856]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The General Apothecaries Company, (limited). Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    f l)e General (LIMITED.) CAPITAL, £100,000, IN SHARES OF £10 EACH. Ofiace, Laboratories, and Wholesale and Retail Depot, 19, BEEMES-STHEET, OXEOED-STEEET, LONDON, AND AFOTBECABIES’ HALI., COLQUIT STREET, EIVERFOOE. This Company has been established to supply the Medical Profession and the Public witli pure drugs, unadulterated chemicals, invalids’ food, &c., and to prepare all medicinal compounds with scientific accuracy. It further proposes to give a new impetus to the practice of medicine by publishing an account of all new remedies, new applications or improvements of those already known, and to keep the profession acquainted with all progress made in the medical sciences. JOHN JAMES EIDGE, M.D., J.P., Chairman. JOHN GARDNER, M.D., Managing Director. OPINIONS OF THE METROPOLITAN PRESS. From the “ Morning Chronicle,” October Vtth. The General Apothecaries’ Company.—We had an opportunity on Wednesday of inspecting the extensive plant, macliinery, laboratories, crush- ing and grinding mills for drugs, wai’ehouses, utensils, and other appliances of the General Apothecaries’ Company in Berners-street, Oxford-street. The directors being anxious to give j)uhlicity to the results of their organization, very judiciously detennined upon inviting the members of the metropolitan press, and a considerable gathering took place. They were met by Dr. Ridge, the Chairman of the Company; Dr. Gardner, the Managing Director, and several other members of the hoard, and the Resident Chemical Professor. The visitors were in the first instance shown over the dispensing repositoiy or shop. Here the most valuable or remarkable drugs and medicines were exhibited, and their peculiar properties, both in their simpler forms and under various combinations, exifiained by Dr. Ridge. The doctor sti’ongly impressed upon his hearers the very earnest care exercised by the esta- blishment in obtaining eveiy article in its most juire and genuine condition. The tinctures were prepared with the most scrupulous attention, to secure equality in their specific gi-avities, whatever liquid might he employed in their composition. He explained that, for medicinal use, it is not always the most costly article that is best, hut the profession and public are entitled to have exactly what they wish to piu’chaso under its own name at the proper market price. Thus English rhubarb, wliich fetches hut 2s. or 3s. per lb., is nearly ii‘ not quite equal in efficacy to the very finest specimens of Turkey rhubarb at 12s. to 10s. per lb. He then referred to the extreme difficulty of obtaining many things in a satisfactoiy state; drugs are subjected, even at the foreign ports of shipment, to adulteration; and he showed by whnt tests, all which were constantly at liand in an adjoining room occupied by tlie Resident Chemist, the Company was enabled to detect such spurious com- pounds. Among the now remedies which the Company would sell, ho pointed