acy dispensed
genuine drugs and not substitutes.

The pharmaceutical profession in this country hailed the outstanding
exhibition, and the November 1946 issue of the _Journal of the American
Pharmaceutical Association, Practical Pharmacy Edition_, devoted its
front cover to depicting one corner of the study and laboratory room of
the shop.[16] Also, in a letter dated January 2, 1947, addressed to Dr.
Alexander Wetmore, then Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Dr.
Robert P. Fischelis, the secretary of the American Pharmaceutical
Association, considered the completion of the deposited exhibition a
triumph and "as one of the highlights of the accomplishments of the
Association in 1946."

[Illustration: Figure 15.--LATE 16TH-CENTURY, wooden drug container with
coat-of-arms, in the Squibb collection. The inscription _Ungula Alcis_
(the hoof of the elk) suggests a superstitious attitude in medical
practice and the wide use of animal organs in medical treatment.
(_Courtesy of the American Pharmaceutical Association._)]

From 1946 to 1948, the Division's collection was further enriched with
a number of historical specimens, among which was a "grosse Flamme"
x-ray machine with induction-coil tube and stand developed by Albert B.
Koett. It is one of the earliest American-made machines of its kind,
producing a 12-inch spark, the largest usable at that time with
180,000-volt capacity, and a forerunner of later autotransformers. Other
accessions included two 19th-century drug mills, an electric belt used
in quackery, two medicine chests, three sets of Hessian crucibles used
in a pioneer drugstore in Colorado, a drunkometer, mineral ores, and
purely produced chemical elements.

[Illustration: Figure 16.--A RARE, ANTWERP, 16th-century drug jar in the
Squibb collection deposited by the American Pharmaceutical Association.]

In the spring of 1948, Associate Curator Whitebread retired after 30
years of service with the U.S. National Museum. He was a pioneer in the
field of health museums and during his curatorship had developed a
moribund section into a Division of field-wide importance. Dr.
Whitebread was succeeded by George S. Thomas, also a pharmacist, who
served as associate curator from August 1948 until early 1952.

[Illustration: Figure 17.--THE APOTHECARY SHOP as seen in the Arts and
Industries building (1946-1964). (_Courtesy of the American
Pharmaceutical Association._)]

[Illustration: Figure 18.--VIEW OF THE LAB