Table of Contents

Biographical Note

Scope and Content Note

Information for Researchers

Administrative Information

Description

Subject Headings

Inventory of the Shurtleff Pharmacy Records

In the New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library

Biographical Note

H. Shurtleff was born in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, in 1849. He came to New Bedford as a young man and learned his trade as a pharmacist with James E. Blake at his pharmacy. In 1878, Shurtleff opened the only pharmacy in the south end of New Bedford on the corner of Purchase Street and Grinnell Street. He became a registered druggist in 1885 in compliance with State law.

In 1880, Shurtleff married Carrie F. Collins, and the couple had two children. During his lifetime, Shurtleff ran a successful business and trained many others who entered into similar business or became physicians. Prior to his death in 1934, Shurtleff had turned the management of the pharmacy over to his son, Frederic A., who continued to run the business until his retirement in 1955.

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Scope and Content Note

Records in this collection concentrate on invoices of supplies as wells as stock and prescription receipts for a New Bedford, Mass., pharmacy, 1883-1925.

The invoices consist of bills and receipts charged to the pharmacy from suppliers and span the years 1883-1891. The supplies for the pharmacy include large quantities of alcohol, flasks, bottles, beakers, boxes, labels, perfume essences, herbs, drugs, and other pharmaceutical materials. The pharmacy stock includes soaps, cosmetics, threads, musical instrument strings, braces, bandages, cigars and other tobacco products. The suppliers are primarily wholesale dealers from Boston as well as a number from New York and Providence.

The prescription receipts are the forms written by physicians for their patients to be filled by the pharmacy, 1912-1925. The majority of these have been trimmed so that the patient's name is no longer there. These forms do identify the physicians practicing in the city along with their office location. The prescriptions indicate the types of medication being prescribed and in some cases the formuale for it. This reflects the general health of the city as well as the types of illnesses and diseases occurring at the time. There are also formulae for medications on the inside covers of these volumes. Receipts from 1912 to 1916 are few and sporadic.

Arrangement of Collection

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Information for Researchers

Access to Collections

Unrestricted. Consult librarian for an appointment.

Preferred Citation

New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library Mss 96, [sub-group, series, sub-series, folder/volume as appropriate], [item]

Copyright Notice

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials. The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 United States Code 552a) governs the use of materials that document private individuals, groups, and corporations.

Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a reproduction if the document does not infringe the privacy rights of an individual, group, or corporation. These specified conditions of authorized use include:

If the researcher later uses a copy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," the researcher is personally liable for copyright, privacy, or publicity infringement and agrees to indemnify the New Bedford Whaling Museum from any legal action as a result of the error. Permission to obtain a photographic, xerographic, digital, or other copy of a document does not indicate permission to publish, exhibit, perform, reproduce, sell, distribute, or prepare derivative works from the document without permission from the copyright holder and from any private individual, group, or corporation shown or otherwise recorded.

Permission to publish, exhibit, perform, reproduce, prepare derivative works from, sell, or otherwise distribute the item must be obtained separately in writing from the holder of the original copyright (or if the creator is dead, from his/her heirs) as well as from any individual(s), groups, or corporations whose name, image, recorded words, or private information (e.g. employment information) may be reproduced in the source material. The holder of the original copyright is not necessarily the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The New Bedford Whaling Museum is not legally liable for copyright, privacy, or publicity infringement when materials are wrongfully used after being provided to researchers for "fair use."

This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if fulfillment of the order is judged in violation of copyright or federal or state privacy law. This institution also places restrictions on the use of cameras, photocopiers, and scanners in the research room.

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Administrative Information

Provenance

Material in this collection was donated to the Old Dartmouth Historical Society by Nestor and Mary Mesquita on 12 January 1984.

Processing Information

Processed by: Judith M. Downey, 26 December 1989

Encoded by: Kermit Dewey, 23 April 2012; box list appended by Mark Procknik, 24 April 2012

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Description

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Subject Headings

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