Behind the Frontpiece

Another very common item found in pharmacies of this era was a box of homeopathic medicines, Humphrey's Specifics being one of the most popular. A small amount of a substance was used to treat a malady, and it could be ordered by a number printed on the display box. Whereas today, most drugs are sold as premanufactured pills, prescriptions in territorial days were often compounded from crude drugs extracted from plant materials.

Items around the back of the frontpiece include a plant press for pressing out extracts, a drug-grinding mill, a pill press, a check-writer, and a wrapping paper dispenser. In the pyramid-shaped display case there is a device to make pills and cut each one into an appropriate size, as well as various suppository molds and cork presses. These presses compressed the cork to about half of its original diameter; it was then immediately put in a jar, where it would expand to form a very tight seal.