31/05/2017

Books' Room at the History of Pharmacy Collection in Cluj

This room, initially another storage space and then the laboratory of the modern pharmacy, is now used for the display of part of the books and documents collection, but also of some of the highly popular exhibits  of the History of Pharmacy Collection in Cluj-Napoca.
Books' Room in the History of Pharmacy Collection, Cluj-Napoca

The central case contains two 18th-century manuscripts by Tobias Maucksch, the privileged pharmacist who initiated the decoration and the first marketing strategies in the old pharmacy. He noted offering doctors in town New Year’s presents so that they referred patients with prescriptions to his shop. Such presents consisted of white sugar, coffee or six lemons, as these were novel and fashionable goods during that period. The case also contains several printed works employed by pharmacists, from ancient writings and collections of aphorisms, to specialize books such as pharmacopoeias, encyclopedias of knowledge, and dispensatories, collections of recipes for the preparation of drugs.
The museum's collection of specialized written sources is in fact much larger, including as early as 16th-century pharmaceutical works printed in Venice, manuscript inventories of pharmacies from Transylvania, diplomas and numerous later, printed books.

Apothecary old books

Apothecary and medical old books

Among the famous exhibits, in this room you can discover the bottles in which the Elixir of Love was once sold and the recipe for this aphrodisiac drink, and a precious apothecary chest, a kind of first aid kit that noblemen took with them in their numerous travels through Transylvania and abroad.
Listen to the presentation on izi.Travel HERE.

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