Did you know that the Library has a collection of more than 50 apothecary jars – designed to hold medications and ingredients in what today we’d call “pharmacies” – in the Rare Book Room at the South Campus (main) Library? No time to visit? No problem! The jars are also available online.
Take a coffee break and learn a bit of history about these jars. Some are painted with beautifully ornate decorations and symbols.
Interested in what the jars actually contained? Everything from the safe (table sugar) to the poisonous (henbane). Apothecaries worked with a wide range of plant material: leaves, roots, bark, flowers, and seeds. Many of the jars contained items to help relieve pain.
A few of the jars in the collection remain a mystery. Those particular jars are available within Flickr. If you know something about these jars, help us expand what is known by commenting on or tagging a photo with a note.