Materia Medica

Also on display in this room are a number of over-the-counter items and unique pharmacy memorabilia, the most exciting of which is the Materia Medica collection, a large box of natural products that were used in making prescriptions. Produced by Parke-Davis, it is one of the few remaining complete sets in the world. In the past, students of pharmacy were required to memorize and be able to identify each of the products, their uses, and their origin.

As is true today, pharmacies in the past were a source not just of health care products: pens, dyes, shaving equipment, hair preparations, and many over-the-counter remedies for minor ailments were also available. In the background of these cases are photos of early drug stores in Arizona prior to statehood in 1912. Visitors also enjoy seeing the various containers, from  colorful tins and brightly colored lithograph labels to unusual bottle shapes like the cod liver oil bottle in the shape of a fish. A number of show globes are on display, some with multiple tiers and ground glass stoppers between tiers.