Apothecary, Pharmacy & Chemist Items
Here are a few antique treen items that you might expect to see used by Apothecaries, Chemists and Pharmacists.
This is a Pill silverer dating from around the mid 1800s. It has been turned from boxwood. The centre unscrews and this is a particularly lovely example showing the silvered interior and some of the old silver leaf still remaining. £295 For more information
Pill silverer's were used in the manufacture of pills, once the pills had been formed and dried, they were dampened with mucilage of acacia and mixed with silver leaf. The spherical pill silverer was then shaken in a rotary movement until all the pills were coated in silver.
This is a 19th century Boxwood pill rounder for making two different size pills. The pills after being formed in the pill machine are then placed under the pill rounder which is then moved in a circular motion, applying slight pressure to round the pills. They would then be placed in a pill silverer. £45
These antique apothecary double ended cup measurers were made in different sizes and sometimes have numbers stamped on them the largest being 8s for eight spoonfuls and the smallest being 1s. The most common size being 5s. This example is the smallest one.
his is an antique treen searce made from Maple wood and dating from the late 18th century. The top section consists of a semi circular bowl with a metal perforated mesh in the centre. When the powder is sieved it will pass through into the base. The base is hollow and unscrews so that the powder can be retrieved. £445 Button
Antique treen searces were used for sifting powders mainly for apothecaries, the sieved powder would then go on to be made into a paste for pills. These antique treen searces nowadays are particularlydifficult to find.
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