Newfoundland Drugstores: A History
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by John K. Crellin
Flanker Press, St. John’s, N.L., 2013 225 pp., illus., $19.95 paperback
Drugstores were important fixtures on any Victorian-era main street. The druggist was the first line of defence against minor ailments that didn’t warrant a costly doctor’s bill, and the store provided a one-stop shop for remedies, beauty products, and household goods.
In his book Newfoundland Drugstores: A History, John K. Crellin allows us to peer into a nineteenth-century drugstore and imagine the sights and smells within the shop. The book is laid out much like the store shelves — filled with research on different products and remedies — and the author plays the role of the trusted druggist, sharing his personal knowledge
and expertise with the customer.
Crellin worked closely with the James J. O’Mara Pharmacy Museum in St. John’s, and so the book is wonderfully illustrated
with photos, advertisements, store logs, and ephemera.
It focuses on the Newfoundland experience, which is always a bit unique. Later chapters look at how Confederation with Canada in 1949 affected an industry that was already changing as a result of commercialization, standardization, and soda machines. However, Newfoundland Drugstores is more than a local story and adds to a much broader history of medicine, health, and consumerism.
— Joanna Dawson (Read bio)
Joanna Dawson is Canada's History Society's Acting Director of Programs.