HISTORY OF PHYSIOLOGY
1 INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1 PART ONE SELLING HEALTH 12 2 THE SHOP AND THE CITY 13 3 KEEPING SHOP 34 PART TWO CUSTOMERS AND CREDIT 60 4 PEOPLE AND THEIR PURCHASES 61 5 RECOVERING DEBTS 103 PART THREE PRODUCTS 137 6 WAX 138 7 SUGAR AND SPICES 169 8 MEDICINES 210 9 EPILOGUE 267 CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS THIS PROJECT WAS FUNDED BY THE WELLCOME TRUST GRANT 064962 Z 01 SELLING HEALTH IN RENAISSANCE ITALY CONSUMERS AND CONSUMPTION IN THE TUSCAN APOTHECARY 1350 1600 IN 1996 THE BRITISH ARTIST DAMIEN HIRST SOLD THE TATE GALLERY IN LONDON AN INSTALLATION HE HAD CREATED FOUR YEARS EARLIER ENTITLED PHARMACY THIS WAS A MID SIZED SPACE DESIGNED TO EVOKE A LOCAL CHEMIST S SHOP 1 EMPTY PACKETS EMULATING MEDICINES STOOD IN GLASS CABINETS GLASS JARS CONTAINING COLOURED WATER STOOD ON THE DESK AT WHICH SALES WERE MEANT TO TAKE PLACE THE NEXT YEAR IN 1997 HIRST OPENED AN EPONYMOUS RESTAURANT PHARMACY IN LONDON S NOTTING HILL FOOD CRITICS WERE HOSTILE BUT MORE INTERESTINGLY HE WAS QUICKLY ATTACKED BY THE ROYAL PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN 2 THEY OBJECTED TO HIS USE OF THE NAME AND TO HIS DISPLAY OF BOTTLES AND MEDICAL PARAPHERNALIA FOR FEAR THAT IT COULD CONFUSE CUSTOMERS SEE IMAGE 1 1 OVERLEAF WHEN DESCRIBING THE RATIONALE BEHIND HIS LONG STANDING THEME OF THE PHARMACIST AND HIS SHOP HIRST COMMENTED THEY WERE BELIEVING IN MEDICINE IN EXACTLY THE SAME WAY I WANTED THEM TO BELIEVE IN ART I STILL GET A KICK OUT OF THE FACT THAT THERE IS NO MEDICINE INVOLVED IN PHARMACY IT S A VERY SIMPLE WAY TO LOOK AT HOW THIS CONFIDENCE WORKS WITH MEDICINE COMPANIES THE PACKAGING IS THE POWER 3 HIRST WAS ARTICULATING A COMMONLY HELD CONTEMPORARY VIEW THAT DRUG COMPANIES USE VISUAL MEANS ADVERTISING AND A SENSE OF CONFIDENCE IN THE CURATIVE POWERS OF THEIR PRODUCTS TO PERSUADE CONSUMERS THAT THEY WILL GET WELL IF THEY BUY THESE GOODS THE ROYAL PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY S RESPONSE WAS ALSO TYPICAL IT WANTED TO PROTECT ITS MONOPOLY OVER NOT ONLY THE NAME BUT ALSO THE LOOK OF THE PHARMACY IN ORDER TO PROTECT CONSUMERS FROM FRAUD ALTHOUGH THERE WAS CONSIDERABLE LOCAL PRESS ATTENTION IN THE UK TO THIS DISPUTE AND TO THE EVENTUAL HIGHLY PROFITABLE SALE OF THE RESTAURANT S INTERIOR FITTINGS IN 2004 FEW NOTED THE TRADITIONAL NATURE OF THIS DEBATE 4 THERE IS A LONG HISTORY OF ATTEMPTS TO CURE ILLNESS THROUGH MANUFACTURED MEANS BY TAKING PILLS SYRUPS DISTILLATES LOTIONS CREAMS OR ENEMAS THERE HAS BEEN AN ALMOST EQUALLY LONG TRADITION OF TRYING TO OVERSEE AND CONTROL 1 THEIR MAKERS AND SELLERS YET THE TERMS USED TODAY FOR OVER THE COUNTER OR PRESCRIPTION DRUG SALES PHARMACY OR CHEMIST REPRESENT A RELATIVELY RECENT DEVELOPMENT 5 PHARMACY COMES FROM THE GREEK WORD PHARMAKOS OR DRUG CHEMIST IS TAKEN FROM THE LATIN TERM CHEMISTA AN ABBREVIATION OF ALCHEMIST BUT THIS NOMENCLATURE WAS NOT GENERALLY USED FOR THE SALE OF MEDICAL PRODUCTS BEFORE THE END OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY INSTEAD SHOPKEEPERS AND CUSTOMERS USUALLY REFERRED TO SPICE SHOPS AS SPEZIERIE OR SIMPLY TO AN APOTHEKE A TERM DERIVED FROM THE GREEK WORD FOR STOREHOUSE AND FROM WHICH WE TAKE THE LABEL APOTHECARY THE LATTER WAS A PARTICULARLY APPOSITE RENAISSANCE DESCRIPTION FOR THE FIFTEENTH AND EARLY SIXTEENTH CENTURY APOTHECARY S SHOP IMAGE 1 1 HISTORY OF PHYSIOLOGY 2 WHICH WAS INDEED A STOREHOUSE AND MANUFACTURING SITE FOR A REMARKABLE RANGE OF PRODUCTS WHILE THESE INCLUDED MEDICINES THEY ALSO RANGED FROM SUGAR AND SPICE TO WAX SAVOURY SAUCES SWEET BISCUITS CANDIED NUTS ARTISTS PIGMENTS HOUSE PAINTS AND THE INGREDIENTS FOR PERFUME A CENTURY LATER THERE WAS MUCH GREATER SPECIALISATION WITH STRONGER DIVISIONS BETWEEN THE SALE OF PHARMACEUTICAL ITEMS AND OTHER GOODS EVEN THOUGH THE BOUNDARIES WERE STILL FAR FROM FIXED MOST OF THE WORK ON PHARMACIES AND APOTHECARIES HAS CONCENTRATED ON THIS LATER PERIOD PARTICULARLY ON THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURY INNOVATIONS IN THE SALES AND MARKETING OF MEDICINES THROUGH SHOPS AND STREET SELLERS SUCH AS CHARLATANS 6 BUT THE TRANSITIONS AND TRADITIONS OF THE LATER CENTURIES ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO APPRECIATE WITHOUT AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE ROLE PLAYED BY THE APOTHECARY OR SPEZIERIA OF THE FIFTEENTH AND SIXTEENTH CENTURIES THE ARCHIVE OF THE OSPEDALE DEGLI INNOCENTI IN FLORENCE CONTAINS THE RECORDS OF A NUMBER OF APOTHECARY SHOPS FOR THIS EARLIER PERIOD WITH SEEMINGLY DRY BUT OFTEN VERY COMPLETE ACCOUNTS OF RETAIL SALES ARRANGED BY CUSTOMER THEY RECORD THE NAMES AND ABOVE ALL THE DEBTS AND PAYMENTS OF CLIENTS WHO ENTERED THE SHOP THESE RANGE FROM THOSE WHO CAME IN ONLY ONCE TO THOSE WHO STOPPED BY ON A DAILY BASIS THEY USUALLY INDICATE WHAT WAS SOLD AND FOR HOW MUCH MORE RARELY THEY TELL US WHY THE PURCHASE WAS MADE AMONGST THE MOST COMPLETE OF THESE RECORDS ARE THE FORTY NINE REGISTERS OF THE SPEZIALE AL GIGLIO WHICH RUN FROM 1464 TO 1568 SERVING FLORENCE S COMMUNITY FROM THE SAME SITE FOR OVER A CENTURY ALTHOUGH IT PASSED THROUGH THREE GENERATIONS DURING THIS PERIOD EACH DESCENDENT KEPT THE RECORDS OF THE PREVIOUS OWNER BEFORE EVENTUALLY PASSING THEM ALL ON TO THE OSPEDALE WHICH INHERITED THE POSSESSIONS OF THE LAST SPEZIALE IMAGES 1 2 AND 1 3 OVERLEAF THESE RECORDS HAVE BEEN USED BY AMONGST OTHERS JULIA DELANCEY AS PART OF HER EXAMINATION OF WHERE ARTISTS OBTAINED PIGMENTS IN FIFTEENTH CENTURY FLORENCE 7 BUT THEY AND INDEED THE MANY OTHER SHOP ACCOUNTS THAT SURVIVE HAVE NOT BEEN FULLY EXPLOITED BY CULTURAL HISTORIANS OR HISTORIANS OF SCIENCE THIS MUST BE IN PART BECAUSE THEY WERE NEVER DESIGNED TO TELL US ABOUT THE HISTORY OF AN APOTHECARY S SHOP THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM ONE TYPE OF RETAILING TO ANOTHER OR ABOUT MEDICAL PRACTICES INSTEAD THEY WERE KEPT AS A LEGAL RECORD IN CASE OF DISPUTES OVER CREDIT PAYMENT AND TAXES NONETHELESS THOSE KEEPING THE BOOKS AT THE SPEZIALE AL GIGLIO WERE AS INTERESTED IN CAREFULLY RECORDING TO WHOM THEY SOLD THEIR PRODUCTS WHERE THEY OBTAINED THEIR INGREDIENTS AND EVEN WHY THESE ITEMS WERE SOLD AS THEY WERE IN THE MONEY THEY MIGHT MAKE INDEED PERHAPS WITH THE TAX INSPECTOR IN MIND THEY MADE IT PARTICULARLY DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE THE LATTER ALTHOUGH PROSPEROUS THE SPEZIALE AL GIGLIO WAS NOT A PARTICULARLY SPECIAL SHOP THAT IN ITSELF MAKES THESE RECORDS OF INTEREST THEY REVEAL A FAIRLY TYPICAL BUSINESS AT THE HEIGHT OF THE RENAISSANCE IN FLORENCE IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO HISTORY OF PHYSIOLOGY 3