Overview

The pharmaceutical industry has changed beyond all recognition since the early 20th-century. The modern industry is constantly in the news as new breakthroughs in medical treatment are announced, often provoking ethical and social debates about the implications of new technologies. This volume facilitates the study of the industry by providing information on the present location of pharmaceutical archives. The core of this book consists of a business-by-business guide to the industry's records. Each entry includes a brief history of the company, a summary of its surviving archives and a bibliography of related publications. Similar entries exist for trade associations and schools of pharmacy associated with the industry and there are two appendices listing small collections of records held and relevant public records. The historical compendium is supplemented by three introductory essays, written by leading academics in the field, outlining the history of the industry and describing the nature and uses of the archival records that it has created. These essays are supplemented by a select chronology of pharmaceutical legislation and a select bibliography of histories relating to the pharmaceutical industry in general. A users guide helps readers understand how the business entries were constructed and is supplemented by a glossary of terms used in this book. As such, this book should prove a useful resource to researchers undertaking comparative studies of the pharmaceutical industry, the history of medicine and the retailing of medical drugs.

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9780754633525

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Reviews

'This is a most welcome guide to the archives of an industry which, as is pointed out in the foreword, 'has proved itself one of the critically important engines of British industrial growth since the Second World War'.' Economic History Review 'Historians of business and pharmacy will find this work of value. Major archival collections and large pharmaceutical companies interested in the origins of the industry may also find it of use. Additionally [...] local and family historians will find points of interest. This is a very commendable book...' Reference Reviews '... this is a book - with its four comprehensive indexes - to be welcomed by all who are interested in the development of the pharmaceutical industry.' Business History 'As a reference volume, The Pharmaceutical Industry: A Guide to Historical Records should long endure - encouraging preservation/ making many half-forgotten sources readily accessible, and stimulating recruits to the history of the health field to work on the multifaceted history of the supply system for medicines.' Pharmacy in History '... this guide is excellent value and will assist as well as generate ideas for research in this area. Congratulations to the surveyors and editors whose efforts have provided such an invaluable work.' Medical History 'The development of the modern pharmaceutical industry in all its ramifications is a major research area... and for Britain at least historians now have an excellent guide to the original sources on which their work depends.' Archives Internationales d'Histoire des Sciences 'A good guide to the records of the pharmaceutical industry, this volume will be of considerable value to historians of the pharmaceutical and chemical industries.' British Journal for the History of Science ' The Pharmaceutical Industry is a useful guide to an industry which, as stressed in the foreword, 'has proved itself one of the critically important engines of British industrial growth since the Second War'... As well as helpful historical overviews [...] the book contains a number of useful annexes, notably a chronology of pharmaceutical legislation, a glossary of pharmaceutical terms, a bibliography, and a user's guide.' Ambix 'Simply put, anyone doing historical work on the British pharmaceutical industry must have access to this book. Research libraries outside of Britain should consider purchasing the volume.' Isis

Author Information

Lesley Richmond, Julie Stevenson

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