The Physician's Hand: trends in the evolution of the apothecary and his art across Europe (1500-1700).

‘‘THE PHYSICIAN’S HAND’’: TRENDS IN THE EVOLUTION OF THE APOTHECARY AND HIS ART ACROSS EUROPE, 1500-1700 S. HALIKOWSKI Keywords: apothecaries, Europe, 1500-1700. The history of apothecaries has recently enjoyed a rapid resurgence in academic interest. If... More

‘‘THE PHYSICIAN’S HAND’’: TRENDS IN THE EVOLUTION OF THE APOTHECARY AND HIS ART ACROSS EUROPE, 1500-1700 S. HALIKOWSKI Keywords: apothecaries, Europe, 1500-1700. The history of apothecaries has recently enjoyed a rapid resurgence in academic interest. If once written as antiquarian history by retired pharmacists rather than members of the Academy, and considered by professional historians in recent memory ‘‘largely unproblematic’’, the world of the early modern apothecary has been the subject of two special issues of respected historical journals, Renaissance Studies and Pharmacy in History, as well as a recent symposium held on 13 June 2008 at the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL London entitled ‘‘The KnowlThis article surveys the place of the apothecary in the Italian and wider European social and professional context of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In contrast to localized studies, a comparison across Europe can serve to measure the general pa Less