July 2024
Since first encountering them I have been fascinated by apothecaries in the early years of the colonies and the part they played in the foodways. This advertisement of 21 October 1820 taken out by J. Tawell in the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser suggests why:
TAWELL, APOTHECARY, &c. No. 18, Pitt-street, Sydney.—Medicines generally, of the best qualities.—Captains of Ships supplied.—Medicine Chests fitted.—Prescriptions accurately prepared. And, as above, may be had in any quantities, best Epsom, Cheltenham, and Glauber Salts, fine Castor Oil, Senna, Bark, Sulphur, Goulard’s Extract of Lead, Oil and Spirits of Vitriol, Spanish Liquorice, English Caraway Seeds, Allspice, Cinnamon, Cloves, Ginger, fine Arrow Root, Sago, Oatmeal, English Starch, &c. &c. &c. An elegant Medicine Chest for Sale.
It’s selling spices that caught my attention. Tawell wasn’t unique in this. His apothecary contemporaries also sold spices. I wanted to know more about these apothecaries and how they fitted in the foodways of the early colonies.
