Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish must be obtained from Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy, Shenandoah University, Winchester.

Preferred Citation

Miller's Drug Store (Winchester, Va.) Recipe Book, Undated. Accession 45339. Business records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Loaned for microfilming by Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy, Shenandoah University, Winchester, 17 September 2010.

Biographical Information

Godfrey Miller (1730-1803) was the proprietor of two apothecaries in Winchester, Virginia. Upon his death, his four sons (Abraham, John, Godfrey II, and Peter) inherited the business, with two running one pharmacy and two running the other. The stores merged in 1845. The business, known as Miller's Drug Store, stayed in the family until it was sold to Garland Spillman in 1943. The recipe book cataloged here, which likely contains formulas that belonged originally to Godfrey Miller as well as ones added after his death, was among the pharmacy's records. Note: Information provided by Alan McKay, Dean, Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy, Shenandoah University.

Scope and Content

Recipe book (or "receipt book "), undated, from the records of Miller's Drug Store in Winchester, Virginia, includes formulas for the treatment of various maladies including rheumatism, toothache, shingles, stomach cramps, spitting up of blood, chapped hands and lips, diphtheria, ague, itching, nose bleeds, diarrhea, and burns. The recipes call for the use of a variety of ingredients, including hog's lard, nitric acid, vanilla, iodine, leeches, Spanish flies, sulphur, and beeswax. Also includes prescriptions for getting rid of freckles, eliminating cockroaches, and keeping flies from pestering horses; formulas for shampoo, hair dye, and lead gold paint; a booklet ( W.M. Niles' Practical Recipe Book , published in 1852) with recipes for "perfumes, toilet powder, fancy soaps and miscellaneous articles "; and notes on United States and English history.