In the antiques world, pharmacy refers to the fittings, containers and equipment of historic pharmacies, apothecaries' shops and chemists. Collectable items include ceramic drug jars and albarelli, labelled glass bottles and show globes, mahogany runs of small drawers with painted or gilded labels, counters and display cabinets, pestles and mortars, pill-making machines, scales and weights.
Apothecaries and pharmacists traditionally stored their ingredients in standardised containers, and the earliest decorated examples are the tin-glazed albarelli and drug jars made in Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands from the fifteenth century onwards, many bearing the abbreviated Latin names of their contents. English delftware drug jars and pill slabs were made in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In the nineteenth century, chemists' shops were fitted with impressive mahogany cabinetry and glass bottles with gilded or enamelled labels, and large carboys or show globes filled with coloured liquid became the recognised symbol of the trade. Collectors look for original labels, completeness of sets, good condition and authentic surfaces, and should be aware that some old bottles may contain hazardous residues. Pharmacy cabinets with banks of labelled drawers are popular in kitchens, studies and dressing rooms, where they offer practical storage.
