'The Itinerant Apothecary', print by George Spratt, London, England, 1830
George Spratt was a man-midwife who is better known for his ‘personifications’, in which a person is made up from the tools of their trade or the objects they are normally associated with. Here, an apothecary has a thigh and a hat made from a pestle and mortar, a measuring cylinder as a lower leg, bottles of treatments for arms and boxes of pills for feet. A pill cutter also forms part of his coat. Spratt collaborated on a number of these drawings with the lithographer G E Madeley (active 1826-1854) and English bookseller and publisher Charles Tilt (1797-1861).
Object number:
1989-451/2
Related Themes and Topics
Glossary:
Glossary: print
Pictorial works produced by transferring images by means of a matrix such as a plate, block, or screen, using any of various printing processes. When emphasizing the individual printed image, use "impressions." Avoid the controversial expression "original prints," except in reference to discussions of the expression's use. If prints are neither "reproductive prints" nor "popular prints," use just "prints."
Glossary: measuring cylinder
piece of laboratory glassware used to accurately measure out volumes of chemicals for use in reactions. They are generally more accurate and precise for this purpose than flasks.
Glossary: pill cutter
used to prepare pills
Glossary: apothecary
A term used until about 1800 to describe someone who prepares and sells drugs or compounds for medicinal purposes. Today the term ‘pharmacist’ or ‘pharmaceutical chemist’ is used instead.
Glossary: mortar
Cup-shaped vessel in which drugs or herbal mixtures are pounded with a pestle.
Glossary: pestle
An elongated piece of hard material usually made of stone. A pestle is used for grinding pigments, herbs, spices or other materials in a mortar.
Glossary: lithograph
Prints made using the process of lithography - a method for printing using a plate or stone with a completely smooth surface.