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1923 antique PHARMACY PRESCRIPTION LEDGER lynn ma DRUGSTORE MEDICINE DOCTORS RX
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AI-prepared description based on the photographs, information provided, and historical research.
DESCRIPTION
Outstanding 1923–1924 handwritten pharmacy prescription ledger associated with Lynn, Massachusetts, an unusually large and densely filled record of the day-to-day business of an early 20th-century drugstore.
The massive ledger measures approximately 7.5 x 17 inches and contains unnumbered, thick pages that are extensively filled with handwritten prescription entries. The photographed contents extend from February 1923 through December 1924.
This is not simply an account book. Individual entries record prescription numbers, medicinal ingredients and preparations, quantities, dosage/use instructions, prices and names, providing an exceptional primary-source record of pharmacy and medical practice during the 1920s.
Prescription numbers visible in the book progress from approximately 162,000 in early 1923 to more than 166,000 by late 1924, strongly suggesting this was the continuing prescription register of an established, high-volume pharmacy.
The formulas document an extraordinary variety of period medicines and compounded preparations. Visible examples include preparations involving digitalis, codeine, caffeine citrate, belladonna, acetylsalicylic acid/aspirin, sodium bicarbonate, bromides, salicylates, glycerin, quinine-related preparations, cough medicines, syrups, ointments, eye preparations and numerous multi-ingredient compounds. Many are written using the pharmaceutical abbreviations and Latin terminology customary to the period.
Of particular interest are the numerous surnames written throughout the ledger. These appear to include patient/account names as well as recurring names associated with prescriptions. Several recurring surnames correspond with physicians documented as practicing in Lynn and the surrounding Essex County medical community during this era.
One particularly strong example is Stockbridge, a name appearing repeatedly in the ledger. Contemporary Essex County history documents a Dr. Stockbridge who graduated from Tufts in 1905, interned at Union Hospital in Lynn, and then established his medical practice in Lynn, first at 32 City Hall Square and later at 69 Park Street. He was also a member of the Lynn Medical Association.
Another recurring ledger surname is Metzger. Period medical records specifically identify Butler Metzger of Lynn among Essex South physicians. Metzger had also served as a house officer at Boston City Hospital.
Further evidence of the Lynn connection is found inside the front cover. An original label reads:
“TO DUPLICATE THIS BOOK
ORDER No. 51200
THE R. S. BAUER CO.
STATIONERS AND BOOKSELLERS
33–35 Central Square
LYNN, MASS.”
Taken together—the Lynn stationer\'s custom-order/duplicate label and recurring names matching documented Lynn physicians—the evidence strongly supports this ledger having been used by a Lynn-area pharmacy. The exact drugstore has not been conclusively identified, so no pharmacy name is being attributed without documentation.
Beyond its pharmaceutical interest, the ledger has considerable local history and genealogy potential. Hundreds of names occur throughout the entries, potentially documenting Lynn-area patients, physicians and families during 1923–1924.
The volume retains its handsome period binding with cloth-covered boards, leather spine and corners, and gilt decorative tooling.
Authentic period piece related to family, historyor local heritage - well-suited for historical collections, genealogical /genealogy research, or museum acquisition.Vintage or Antique.
CONDITION: See listing description and photos.
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LOC:
LOC2: BOOKSHELF24-TMKTK-F260828BDS125
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