Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Collection of prescription envelopes
- Dates:
- circa 1840-1973
- Creators:
- Michael Laird Rare Books
- Extent:
- 1 unknown (148 envelopes)
- Language:
- Materials are in English.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Collection of prescription envelopes (Collection 603). Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library History and Special Collections for the Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
"John K. Crellin notes that 'While the history of advertising medicines in Britain has attracted much interest, the prescription envelope has rarely been noted. It has attracted interest as ephemera, for which see "The Chemist and his Stationery. The Prescription Envelope, the Label and the Letterhead" in: Chemist and Druggist 159 (1953): 603-606 [unsigned, but presumably by Arthur Wright, owner of a large collection of Prescription Envelopes]. The article notes that the envelope continued after the advent of the National Health Service in 1948, albeit in smaller numbers for private prescriptions The article bemoans the loss of "typographical or design interest" and that as "an 'art form' if they could be called that, prescription envelopes maybe considered dead.' Source "The Humble Prescription Envelope in the British Medical/Pharmaceutical Marketplace" in: Pharmacy in History, Vol. 49, No. 4 (2007), pp. 131-138. In 2002 the Wellcome Library exhibited: "The chemist's shop: advertising from shops and advertising for shops from 1860-1945." For further references see also William Helfand's review of "Receptkuverter" by Hans-Otto Loldrup in: Pharmacy in History, Vol. 40, No. 2/3 (1998), p. 116."
"Collection of 148 prescription envelopes (including some duplication), with each specimen preserved in a Mylar L-sleeve and loosely inserted into a fitted case. Some of the earliest examples are a bit dusty and marked; overall in very good condition. An intriguing and unusually large collection of vintage Prescription Envelopes, each measuring ca. 14 x 8 cm. A few examples belong to the late 18th- and 19th-century, mostly are early 20th-century. While the majority are undated, four are dated 1913-1914, a few from the 1930s and one very late example (dated 1973). The present specimens were issued by dispensing chemists from all over the U.K., with two envelopes originating from France. The front of the envelope bears the name, address and often the qualification of the chemist, with a line for the recipient, occasionally the name of the medication and a reference number cross-checking with an entry in the chemist's prescription book, occasionally the price and for which ailment prescribed."
Source: Antiquarian bookseller's description, 2017.
- Acquisition information:
- Purchased from Michael Laird Rare Books, 20 July 2017.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
- Names:
- Michael Laird Rare Books
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2020-11-12 17:27:36 -0800 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
- Terms of access:
-
Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Collection of prescription envelopes (Collection 603). Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library History and Special Collections for the Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles.
- Location of this collection:
-
Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library12-077 Center for Health Sciences, Box 951798Los Angeles, CA 90095-1798, US
- Contact:
- (310) 825-6940