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Early Pharmacy in New Braunfels and San Antonio, Texas*
Nov. 1936
1003
AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION
in pharmacy begin the long march toward recapturing the title of quality men in a world surfeited with cheap appeals based upon price.
EARLY PHARMACY I N NEW BRAUNFELS AND SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS.* R Y HENRY F. H E I S .
A history of early Pharmacy in New Braunfels and San Antonio brings us in direct contact with the early colonization and settlement of New Braunfels, Texas. This period takes us to the later days of the Texas Republic and the early statehood days of our state. It was in March 1845, when Prince K. Solms Von Braunfels returned from Germany with a large number of German immigrants, all of a high character and trained in various trades and occupations; they located on the banks of the Coma1 and near the Guadalupe River, and this settlement soon became an important town and trading center. Among those early pioneers we find Dr. Theodore Koester, the physician, and August Tolle, the pharmacist. Transportation was slow; it was still the day of the ox team, thc horse and wagon. The Cherokees and Commanches were still making raids. The candle and kerosene lamp were used in both the home and place of business. Among the drugs in common use were Simaruba, Chinin, Lavender, Chamomile, Sassafras, Calomel, Peppermint, Marjoram, Thyme, Spices, Bay Leaves, etc. Among the early prescriptions we invariably find the pill and powder were popular, and decoctions and infusions prescribed daily. An early partnership in the drug business started in March 1868, when Julius Voelker and C. Flaege signed an agreement written in German, and stipulated the terms, part of which were that each was to put up $1500.00 in gold; the firm continued for many years, and the firm to-day is still operating under the firm name of B. E. Voelker & Son, with a grandson, Edwin R. Voelker, in charge a t this time. During the period of the Civil War we find prices abnormal, due to the depreciated Confederate currency. Laudanum sold for as high as $20.00 an ounce and Chinin (Quinine) up to $400.00 an ounce. Another man who engaged in the drug business shortly after the War was A. Forcke, and in looking over the old files we find that he bought his drug needs from Wheeler, Finlay & Company of New Orleans. The popular, in fact, the only routing, and that usually took a month for the average shipment, came over Indianola, at that time the leading coast city and chief port for southwest Texas. Invoices for merchandise invariably started with a charge for box, container or shipping case, and the price charged was about $1.75. Invoices examined show such items as 20 gallons of coal oil, 40 pounds of corn starch, silver nitrate, with a price of $1.40 an ounce with an extra charge of 30 cents for container (bottle). Acetate and sulphate of morphine became popular items in the prescription room and were costing $11.00 an ounce, cheaper than to-day. There were frequent calls for piperine and also for infusion of calumba, laudanum and tincture of cinchona
.-
. -
Section on Historical Interests, A. PH. A., Dallas meeting. 1936.
___
1004
JOURNAL OF THE
Vol.
XXV. No,11
compound. Cardamom seed was bought in five-pound lots and cost $4.00 a pound. Beginning with 1870 we find invoices from Ad. Dreiss, of San Antonio (see further reference) selling a t wholesale and making shipments of such patents as Wilhoff Antiperiodic a t $10.00 per dozen; Ayers Ague Cure at $8.50; Jaynes Carminative Balsam at $2.60; Jaynes Expectorant at $7.50; Opodeldoc was priced a t $1.50 per pound; Succus Liquiritia at $1.35; 2 ounces of Ammonium Bromide were billed at 30 cents an ounce, etc. On an invoice dated September 10, 1869, we noted 12 ounces of Quinine at $2.45 an ounce, and 10 pounds of Calomel at $1.40 per pound. Chloroform was priced at $1.70 a pound with a 20 cent charge for the bottle. Other drugs in Mr. Forcke’s invoices were such items as Buchu, Sassafras, Bergamot, Acetic and Sulphuric Ether, Glycerin (priced at 60 cents per pound), Kamala, Orange Peel, Ext. Mandrake. On an invoice dated April 21, 1870, we find Rhei-Magnes. Pancreatin, Citrate of Bismuth, Seidlitz Powders, Marsdens Balm, St. Johns Bread, Whortleberries, Agaric, Irish Moss and Rad. Granata. On an invoice dated July 8,1870, a U. S. Dispensatory is priced at $8.50. On an invoice from McKesson & Robbins, New York, dated November 28, 1870, we find 1 keg (60 pounds) of Sage at 9 cents per pound, 48 pounds of Carbonate of Ammonium, 3 pounds of Opium at $12.50 a pound, also Cassia Cort, Pure Raspberry Juice, Alkanet and Anise Seed. A notation that invariably appeared a t the foot of the invoice was “Insurance to Indianola;” on $138.00 the charge was $3.45. Prescriptions examined showed the following ingredients : Zinci Oxydate, Ferri Carbonas, Radix Senegre; Massa Hydrag. seemed popular. The A. Forcke Drug Store was operated until his death in 1895. Some of the original fixtures, etc., may still be seen in the present drug store operated by H. V. Schumann, a former member of the Texas State Board of Pharmacy. Many were the hardships these sturdy pioneers had to overcome in the early days when the whole empire was still a real wilderness, and in taking up the story, more particularly of San Antonio, we find a connecting link if we start with one of the early immigrants of New Braunfels who joined the colony in 1847. He was Albert Dreiss, a farmer, who later served as County Clerk, and one of his sons, Adolph, who served as a drug clerk, moved to San Antonio in 1857. The story of Adolph Dreiss would furnish enough material for a book, but we will limit it to a short sketch; it portrays early drug history in San Antonio and brings US up to a few years ago. Adolph Dreiss (born at Stuttgart, Wiirttemberg, Germany) in 1843, came to Texas with his parents, settling first at New Braunfels and later moving to San Antonio, in 1857, where he served as a clerk in the drug store of A. Netter, located on Crockett and Nacodoches Streets. During the Civil War he served as a Hospital Steward in the Confederate Army, and later as an Indian Scout, after which he returned to San Antonio, going into the drug business on the corner of Commerce and Alamo Street, associated with Drs. T. C. Thompson and Theodore Olmstede, under the firm name of Dreiss, Thompson & Company (wholesale and retail). Later, in 1877, the store was moved a block north on Alamo Plaza. A t this time we find James Clavin, Chase & Cupples-F. Kalteyer 8t Son (wholesale and retail) also operating drug
Nov. 1936
AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION
1005
stores on Commerce Street, at that time San Antonio's leading thoroughfare and business street. The leading physician at this time in San Antonio was the beloved Dr. Ferdinand He&, who practiced medicine for about 50 years in San Antonio. In 1892 Adolph Dreiss sold his wholesale interest to F. Kalteyer & Son, when the two wholesale firms were merged and the San Antonio Drug Company was organized, with Geo. H. Kalteyer as president. His father, F. Kalteyer, died in IS84 and was a vice-president of the Texas Pharmaceutical Association at the time of his death. With Geo. H. Kalteyer a t its head, the San Antonio Drug Company soon became the leading wholesale drug jobber in the Southwest. Geo. H. Kalteyer served as president of the Texas Pharmaceutical Association in 1891. The retail drug store was taken over from Kalteyer by Geo. J. F. Schmitt. Adolph Dreiss continued his retail drug business on Alamo Plaza until his death, in 1908; the local newspapers paid him many compliments, referring t o his sterling qualities as a patriotic, loyal and distinguished citizen. He was always found among the willing workers in the cause of bettering the conditions in San Antonio, which he had also served as Alderman-at-large. He operated an ethical pharmacy, as did his colleagues of those pioneer days; they were all gentlemen of the highest type. Hermann Dreiss (son of Adolph Dreiss) took over the drug store on Alamo Plaza and operated it until a few years ago, when he retired after disposing of the business to the Sommers Drug Co. AN INTERESTING OLD MEDICINE CHEST.* BY CHARLES WHITEBREAD.'
Such great sentimental value is placed upon the belongings of parents, grandparents, and more remote relatives, that personal relics are kept until the facts which enhance their value are forgotten. As a result of this sentimental clinging to old things much material loses all particulars pertaining to ownership before it is turned over to a museum. I n many instances the fact that so little is known about a specimen is one of the principal reasons which prompts the donation of it. Of course, years of experience and work on similar specimens make it possible for the workers in museums to supply the approximate dates when some of these old things were used. The records of ownership when once lost are seldom resurrected. The connection of relics with the persons by whom used and the places where they were used adds so much to their interest that efforts are made to procure as full information as possible to give them the required personal touch. It is so rare a thing for a specimen to retain the information which links it up with the persons who used i t that it is a fact worth mentioning. A specimen of this type, well-prexrved and well-authenticated, was recently added to the pharmacy collection of the United States National Museum. This relic is a medicine chest made by Paytherus, Savory & Company, Chemists and Druggists, 136 New Bond Street, London, England, in 1804. This medicine chest was the property of Ian Abraham
__
* Section on Historical Pharmacy, A. PR.A., Dallas meeting, 1936. Assistant Curator, Division of Medicine, United States National Museum, Washington.
1003
AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION
in pharmacy begin the long march toward recapturing the title of quality men in a world surfeited with cheap appeals based upon price.
EARLY PHARMACY I N NEW BRAUNFELS AND SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS.* R Y HENRY F. H E I S .
A history of early Pharmacy in New Braunfels and San Antonio brings us in direct contact with the early colonization and settlement of New Braunfels, Texas. This period takes us to the later days of the Texas Republic and the early statehood days of our state. It was in March 1845, when Prince K. Solms Von Braunfels returned from Germany with a large number of German immigrants, all of a high character and trained in various trades and occupations; they located on the banks of the Coma1 and near the Guadalupe River, and this settlement soon became an important town and trading center. Among those early pioneers we find Dr. Theodore Koester, the physician, and August Tolle, the pharmacist. Transportation was slow; it was still the day of the ox team, thc horse and wagon. The Cherokees and Commanches were still making raids. The candle and kerosene lamp were used in both the home and place of business. Among the drugs in common use were Simaruba, Chinin, Lavender, Chamomile, Sassafras, Calomel, Peppermint, Marjoram, Thyme, Spices, Bay Leaves, etc. Among the early prescriptions we invariably find the pill and powder were popular, and decoctions and infusions prescribed daily. An early partnership in the drug business started in March 1868, when Julius Voelker and C. Flaege signed an agreement written in German, and stipulated the terms, part of which were that each was to put up $1500.00 in gold; the firm continued for many years, and the firm to-day is still operating under the firm name of B. E. Voelker & Son, with a grandson, Edwin R. Voelker, in charge a t this time. During the period of the Civil War we find prices abnormal, due to the depreciated Confederate currency. Laudanum sold for as high as $20.00 an ounce and Chinin (Quinine) up to $400.00 an ounce. Another man who engaged in the drug business shortly after the War was A. Forcke, and in looking over the old files we find that he bought his drug needs from Wheeler, Finlay & Company of New Orleans. The popular, in fact, the only routing, and that usually took a month for the average shipment, came over Indianola, at that time the leading coast city and chief port for southwest Texas. Invoices for merchandise invariably started with a charge for box, container or shipping case, and the price charged was about $1.75. Invoices examined show such items as 20 gallons of coal oil, 40 pounds of corn starch, silver nitrate, with a price of $1.40 an ounce with an extra charge of 30 cents for container (bottle). Acetate and sulphate of morphine became popular items in the prescription room and were costing $11.00 an ounce, cheaper than to-day. There were frequent calls for piperine and also for infusion of calumba, laudanum and tincture of cinchona
.-
. -
Section on Historical Interests, A. PH. A., Dallas meeting. 1936.
___
1004
JOURNAL OF THE
Vol.
XXV. No,11
compound. Cardamom seed was bought in five-pound lots and cost $4.00 a pound. Beginning with 1870 we find invoices from Ad. Dreiss, of San Antonio (see further reference) selling a t wholesale and making shipments of such patents as Wilhoff Antiperiodic a t $10.00 per dozen; Ayers Ague Cure at $8.50; Jaynes Carminative Balsam at $2.60; Jaynes Expectorant at $7.50; Opodeldoc was priced a t $1.50 per pound; Succus Liquiritia at $1.35; 2 ounces of Ammonium Bromide were billed at 30 cents an ounce, etc. On an invoice dated September 10, 1869, we noted 12 ounces of Quinine at $2.45 an ounce, and 10 pounds of Calomel at $1.40 per pound. Chloroform was priced at $1.70 a pound with a 20 cent charge for the bottle. Other drugs in Mr. Forcke’s invoices were such items as Buchu, Sassafras, Bergamot, Acetic and Sulphuric Ether, Glycerin (priced at 60 cents per pound), Kamala, Orange Peel, Ext. Mandrake. On an invoice dated April 21, 1870, we find Rhei-Magnes. Pancreatin, Citrate of Bismuth, Seidlitz Powders, Marsdens Balm, St. Johns Bread, Whortleberries, Agaric, Irish Moss and Rad. Granata. On an invoice dated July 8,1870, a U. S. Dispensatory is priced at $8.50. On an invoice from McKesson & Robbins, New York, dated November 28, 1870, we find 1 keg (60 pounds) of Sage at 9 cents per pound, 48 pounds of Carbonate of Ammonium, 3 pounds of Opium at $12.50 a pound, also Cassia Cort, Pure Raspberry Juice, Alkanet and Anise Seed. A notation that invariably appeared a t the foot of the invoice was “Insurance to Indianola;” on $138.00 the charge was $3.45. Prescriptions examined showed the following ingredients : Zinci Oxydate, Ferri Carbonas, Radix Senegre; Massa Hydrag. seemed popular. The A. Forcke Drug Store was operated until his death in 1895. Some of the original fixtures, etc., may still be seen in the present drug store operated by H. V. Schumann, a former member of the Texas State Board of Pharmacy. Many were the hardships these sturdy pioneers had to overcome in the early days when the whole empire was still a real wilderness, and in taking up the story, more particularly of San Antonio, we find a connecting link if we start with one of the early immigrants of New Braunfels who joined the colony in 1847. He was Albert Dreiss, a farmer, who later served as County Clerk, and one of his sons, Adolph, who served as a drug clerk, moved to San Antonio in 1857. The story of Adolph Dreiss would furnish enough material for a book, but we will limit it to a short sketch; it portrays early drug history in San Antonio and brings US up to a few years ago. Adolph Dreiss (born at Stuttgart, Wiirttemberg, Germany) in 1843, came to Texas with his parents, settling first at New Braunfels and later moving to San Antonio, in 1857, where he served as a clerk in the drug store of A. Netter, located on Crockett and Nacodoches Streets. During the Civil War he served as a Hospital Steward in the Confederate Army, and later as an Indian Scout, after which he returned to San Antonio, going into the drug business on the corner of Commerce and Alamo Street, associated with Drs. T. C. Thompson and Theodore Olmstede, under the firm name of Dreiss, Thompson & Company (wholesale and retail). Later, in 1877, the store was moved a block north on Alamo Plaza. A t this time we find James Clavin, Chase & Cupples-F. Kalteyer 8t Son (wholesale and retail) also operating drug
Nov. 1936
AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION
1005
stores on Commerce Street, at that time San Antonio's leading thoroughfare and business street. The leading physician at this time in San Antonio was the beloved Dr. Ferdinand He&, who practiced medicine for about 50 years in San Antonio. In 1892 Adolph Dreiss sold his wholesale interest to F. Kalteyer & Son, when the two wholesale firms were merged and the San Antonio Drug Company was organized, with Geo. H. Kalteyer as president. His father, F. Kalteyer, died in IS84 and was a vice-president of the Texas Pharmaceutical Association at the time of his death. With Geo. H. Kalteyer a t its head, the San Antonio Drug Company soon became the leading wholesale drug jobber in the Southwest. Geo. H. Kalteyer served as president of the Texas Pharmaceutical Association in 1891. The retail drug store was taken over from Kalteyer by Geo. J. F. Schmitt. Adolph Dreiss continued his retail drug business on Alamo Plaza until his death, in 1908; the local newspapers paid him many compliments, referring t o his sterling qualities as a patriotic, loyal and distinguished citizen. He was always found among the willing workers in the cause of bettering the conditions in San Antonio, which he had also served as Alderman-at-large. He operated an ethical pharmacy, as did his colleagues of those pioneer days; they were all gentlemen of the highest type. Hermann Dreiss (son of Adolph Dreiss) took over the drug store on Alamo Plaza and operated it until a few years ago, when he retired after disposing of the business to the Sommers Drug Co. AN INTERESTING OLD MEDICINE CHEST.* BY CHARLES WHITEBREAD.'
Such great sentimental value is placed upon the belongings of parents, grandparents, and more remote relatives, that personal relics are kept until the facts which enhance their value are forgotten. As a result of this sentimental clinging to old things much material loses all particulars pertaining to ownership before it is turned over to a museum. I n many instances the fact that so little is known about a specimen is one of the principal reasons which prompts the donation of it. Of course, years of experience and work on similar specimens make it possible for the workers in museums to supply the approximate dates when some of these old things were used. The records of ownership when once lost are seldom resurrected. The connection of relics with the persons by whom used and the places where they were used adds so much to their interest that efforts are made to procure as full information as possible to give them the required personal touch. It is so rare a thing for a specimen to retain the information which links it up with the persons who used i t that it is a fact worth mentioning. A specimen of this type, well-prexrved and well-authenticated, was recently added to the pharmacy collection of the United States National Museum. This relic is a medicine chest made by Paytherus, Savory & Company, Chemists and Druggists, 136 New Bond Street, London, England, in 1804. This medicine chest was the property of Ian Abraham
__
* Section on Historical Pharmacy, A. PR.A., Dallas meeting, 1936. Assistant Curator, Division of Medicine, United States National Museum, Washington.