Pharmaceutical Display Cabinet
AssociatedAssociated with
Davidson & Kay
(Aberdeen, Scotland, founded c.1834)
AssociatedAssociated with
May and Baker
Datec.1939
Object NameCabinet
Mediumglass, wood, metal
ClassificationsMedicine and Healthcare
Dimensions86 x 61.3 x 20.1cm
AcquisitionThe George Shepherd Pharmaceutical Collection.
LocationView by Appointment
Object numberABDMS065253
Keywords
A rectangular wooden cabinet finished with a dark varnish and with glass sides and large glass door on the face. The door opens outwards on two hinges on the right side, with a keyhole on the left. At the top is a shaped pediment with the inscription "PRODUCTS OF PHARMACEUTICAL SPECIALITIES / (MAY & BAKER) LIMITED. DAGENHAM" painted in gold lettering. At the bottom is a shallow drawer with two turned wooden handles.
Inside the cabinet are four adjustable metal brackets which would support two shelves.
This cabinet was used for Sulphonamide drugs, probably at Davidson & Kay's Alford Place premises. Davidson & Kay was reputedly the first high street chemist shop in Aberdeen to hold Sulphonamide drugs for dispensing. May & Baker developed Sulfadiazine 693 in 1938. It was later called Sulphapyridine and was famously used to save the life of Winston Churchill when he was ill with pneumonia during the Second World War.
