American medicine in the 19th century was much less regulated in the United States than in other countries. In the U.S., the line between physicians and druggists was somewhat murky. For the patients requiring medical attention, the choices were numerous. But without any meaningful federal regulation, the results could be ineffective and, in some cases, disastrous. Physicians tended to dispense their own drugs, where they would obtain them from a shop for that purpose. Medicines were sold by wholesale druggists and regular shopkeepers.
Apothecaries (defined as a shop that made and sold medicines) existed as medicine resellers but also practiced patient care. America’s individualism created a society with virtually no regulation and no standard of care. The dispensing of medicines remained largely within physicians and apothecaries, who tended to both prescribe and dispense drugs and medications. This confusion encouraged the rise of the wholesale druggist as the group responsible for the manufacturing, mixing, and sale of drugs to the medical profession and, sometimes, directly to the public. They were, in general, not medically trained, and their businesses were chiefly commercial enterprises. Legal regulation at a national level did not occur until later in the 19th century and did not become comprehensive until after 1870. Before then, the mid-nineteenth-century American pharmacy was not defined by legal and professional regulation but existed within the free-market economics and laissez-faire politics of the United States. As with many businesses before the Civil War, they produced their own currency, often in the form of merchant scrip, advertisement notes, and private currency.
Part 1 of this two-part series showcases obsolete notes from drug stores, druggists, and apothecaries. In Part 2, the focus will shift to notes advertising actual drugs, medicines, bitters, and various other “medications”…many of questionable origins.
Thanks to Heritage Auctions for the photographs contained in this article. All photographs are courtesy of the author.
Pharmacy, Apothecary, and Druggist Notes
(Left) 25¢ 1860s-era druggist merchant note from J.T. Banks & Co. of Decatur, Alabama. A farmer and his wife are on the edges. (Right) 10¢ merchant scrip, dated July 15, 1862, from the City Drug Store in Attica, Indiana.
(Left/Right) Front/back, October 21st, 1862, 10¢ merchant note from Chas. H. Goodwin of Exeter, Rockingham County, New Hampshire. Goodwin was a full-service drug store dispensing drugs and medicines as well as selling toiletries, perfumery, books and stationery, and “fancy goods.” Apparently, Goodwin partnered with Fogg & Fellowes, sellers of newspapers, periodicals, fruit, and confections. The green back shows a lovely, large home.
January 1862, 50¢, $1, & $2.50 Confederate merchant notes from Holcomb & Barnard of Fayetteville, Arkansas, and signed by J. Holcomb. The bills state the notes are payable in Confederate notes when presented to Barnard’s Drug Store.
(Left) November 1, 1862, 10¢ numbered and signed merchant note from an unknown apothecary located in South Danvers, Massachusetts. Various medicine jars and tools line the top of the note. (Center) January 1, 1863, 3¢ merchant note from F. Brown, Druggist. A cart laden with hay or wheat is in the bottom left. (Right) 1860s 5¢ H.S. Thacher Apothecary of Nashville, Tennessee.
(Left) 25¢ undated commission scrip from J.J. Clemmer, a druggist from Cresco, Iowa. A mortar and pestle are on the left. On the back is a German and English description. (Right) 50¢ commission scrip from Rhodes & Lewis Drug Store of San Jose, California.
(Left) Undated but numbered 5% discount note from J.N. Snell of Canajoharie, New York. A patriotic eagle sits atop a stars and stripes shield. (Right) April 1st, 1817, 50¢ early merchant note from the St. Louis Drug & Medicine store. A roughly drawn eagle with a shield and arrows is in the center.
(Left) September 1, 1862, 10¢ merchant note from Larkin’s Drug Store in Chester, Pennsylvania. Two maidens grace the edges, and a silhouette of a Native American is in the center, at the bottom. (Right) Civil War era 50¢ note from J.L. Snyder––New York City-based Chemist and Druggist who also sells perfumes and fancy goods. A bold red “50” is in the center, with a 24-star U.S. flag in the bottom right.
Front/back facsimile $500 Confederate note (T-64) with the image of Stonewall Jackson in the bottom right. N.J. Mortentsen, a druggist from Fergus Falls, Minnesota, uses the back to advertise.
(Left/Center) Front/back of a well-executed $10 wholesaler merchant note from Mandeville & Humphrey of Providence, Rhode Island. The wholesaler is a dealer of many products, including pure drugs, medicines, toiletries, and specializes in McGuire's Spanish Preparations. (Right) Back of an 1863 Federally issued $10 legal tender note. The design of the merchant note reverse borrows heavily from the legal tender note. The only design difference is in the center oval.
(Left) Undated 2¢ merchant scrip from Seagull Drug Co. of Salt Lake City, Utah. A menacing-looking monster with fully bared teeth glowers. Under the image is the ironic motto: “Cheerfully Redeemed.” If that image is cheerful, one could only wonder what the expression would be if the monster were angry. (Center) Jan. 1, 1864, $1 merchant note from W. H. Eliot of Houston, Texas. Printed in the center is: “Redeemable in Confederate Notes, in Sums of Ten Dollars.” (Right) Jan. 1, 1864, $2 merchant note from W. H. Eliot. Same design as the $1 note.
(Left/Center) An undated pair of Boston-based soda water tickets from druggist owner T. Larkin and apothecary owner Theodore Metcalf; both contain simple vignettes. (Right) Numbered April 14, 1862, 10¢ City of Richmond, Virginia municipal note. The note was apparently redeemed at the Wm. F. Spotswood Apothecary of Petersburg, Virginia.
(Left/Center) April 1853—25¢/50¢ drug store notes from W.R. Smith of Hillsborough, Ohio. The notes contain an Indian woman and a steamship. (Right) A marker exists celebrating its membership in the National Register of Historic Places. The claim is that W.R. Smith was Ohio’s first drug store.
World's Dispensary Medical Association Coupon Note
Here is a coupon note from the World’s Dispensary Medical Association. The association was created by Dr. Ray Vaughn Pierce (1840–1916). His operation was in business between 1867 and 1880, producing millions of bottles of medication annually. At the time, he was one of Buffalo’s most famous citizens. Dr. Pierce marketed heavily, as evidenced by these notes. His medications had catchy names such as "Doctor Pierce's Favorite Prescription,” “Dr. Pierce's Smart Weed” (over 1 million bottles of Smart Weed were sold annually), and “Dr. Pierce's Pleasant Pellets.” Pierce made sure that the government would keep its hands off the regulatory tools. He vehemently responded to the doctors who questioned the effectiveness of his advertised medicines, though Pierce's medicines were notorious elixirs, many containing opium. Dr. Pierce eventually became a one-term Republican congressman in 1879.
Front/Back of a 35¢ coupon from a drug wholesaler and manufacturer, World’s Dispensary Medical Association, based in Buffalo, New York. On the back is a push for Dr. Pierce’s Irontic Tablets. On the far right is an actual bottle of the Irontic tablets.
