University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Vintage medications from the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science’s museum are now housed in the Health Sciences Library’s Robert L. Brown History of the Health Sciences Collection. Photo: HEALTH SCIENCES LIBRARY

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Published: Dec. 13, 2012

This past September, the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences moved into its new home in John and Editha Kapoor Hall on the South Campus. During the planning process, it was determined that the pharmacy school’s museum collection would be displayed throughout the building and, as a result, the school’s turn-of-the-century apothecary now occupies a highly visible location in the Kapoor Hall lobby.

The visibility of the pharmacy school’s historical collections further increased when selected components found a new home in the Health Sciences Library’s Robert L. Brown History of the Health Sciences Collection.

Located in the lower level of Abbott Hall, the Brown collection houses antiquarian books, instruments, artifacts and other materials that trace the history of medicine and the health sciences. The vintage cabinetry, ornate metal-and-glass show globes, medications, preparations, scales, and mortars and pestles provided by the pharmacy school offer a welcome enhancement to the antique pharmaceuticals and artifacts in the Brown collection.

One particularly interesting acquisition is a trapezoidal display case originally owned by Thomas B. Lockwood, a generous benefactor of UB. Gifted to Lockwood by fellow members of the Buffalo Club in 1935, the wood, metal and glass display case contains a variety of locally produced medications and preparations.

Included are products manufactured by Ray Vaughn Pierce, a well-known, eclectic, Buffalo physician and entrepreneur. The case also contains a variety of items commonly found in early 20th-century pharmacies, including cigarettes, infant-feeding supplies, razors, hair-care products and cleaning preparations.

The Brown collection is open to visitors from 9 a.m. to 5p.m. Monday through Friday, For more information, our webpage or call 829-5737.

—Keith C. Mages and Linda A. Lohr
R.L. Brown History of the Health Sciences Collection
Health Sciences Library