History of Pharmacy Museum of the Faculty of Pharmacy University of Belgrade

Abstract

History of Pharmacy Museum at the Faculty of Pharmacy University of Belgrade was founded in Belgrade in 1952, thanks to many pharmacists and historians, but especially to Mr Andrija Mirkovicacute; (Mpharm). His precious private collection of antiquities, which he donated to the Faculty of Pharmacy in Belgrade, subsequently a basic one for the Museum foundation, included apothecary vessels, apparatuses, manuscripts and books dated back to the XVI century. Furthermore, there were included many other antiquities, books and manuscripts from pharmacies on the territory of former Yugoslavia, mostly from Serbia, so the entire Museum collection comprises various apothecary vessels: 700 ceramic, wooden, glass, porcelain and halide glass jars, as well as the XIX century exhibits from Pravitelstvena Apoteka (the first state-owned pharmacy in Serbia, which operated between 1836-1859). The Museum collection of accessories and vessels is completed with a library and precious archive materials. The library itself includes the original manuscripts as well as the colour offprint of some manuscripts, and printed works; mostly scientific books, textbooks, journals and pharmacopoeias with drug tax lists. Some printed books dating back to the Late Middle Ages are very rare and precious, such as Curio's Medicina Salernitana (1612) and the Ruel's version of Dioscorides' De materia medica. This entire collection is considered a unique one in Serbia for its variety and greatness, representing a precious source for studying the History of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Ethics (as a subject was included into the Faculty's curriculum since 1952 and cancelled recently in 2008).