New Orleans Pharmacy Museum

05/22/2026

“When landlords turn the drunken bee / Out of the foxglove’s door, / When butterflies renounce their drams, / I shall but drink the more!” - I taste a liquor never brewed, Emily Dickinson 🪻

Also known as ‘fairy caps’ or ‘witches’ thimbles,’ the foxglove– in addition to housing the drunken bee – caught the attention of Dr. William Withering in 1775. He learned of the plant’s uses from an elderly woman in Shropshire, who “had sometimes made cures after the more regular practitioners had failed.” Specifically, this ‘old lady of Shropshire,’ was stated to have a cure for dropsy (what we now refer to as edema) made of 20 different herbs. Of these, Dr. Withering noted that the active ingredient was foxglove.

Over the course of the following 10 years, he prescribed it often. He often spoke about foxglove and its properties with ‘the poor’ of his town, for whom he would give advice for one hour every day free of charge. He eventually compiled his thoughts into a book “An Account of the Foxglove,” in 1785. Dr. Withering’s goal in his administration of foxglove was for its use as a diuretic, which he claimed the plant was able to do “more generally than any other medicine,” although admitted that it did not work in every patient.

Interestingly, though, his final “inference” about foxglove is the one that would become the most important: “That it has power over the motion of the heart, to a degree yet unobserved in any other medicine.”

He was more right than perhaps he knew. Foxglove, Latin name “digitalis purpurea,” is a cardiac glycoside (a term that means, functionally, that it decreases heart rate while increasing contraction strength). Separated by hundreds of years and miles, today we call the drug derived from foxglove “digoxin,” used for heart failure when other treatments fail.

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05/15/2026

One of the key artifacts at the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum is a simple stamp, likely used for official correspondence by Louis Dufilho regarding pharmacy affairs. The symbol he chose to use might look a little familiar, at least in the center: a winding snake. The snake is common to all of the most-used representations for medicine, both the Caduceus staff and the rod of Asclepius. However, in the Dufilho stamp, the snake is wound around the trunk of a large tree, whose roots are shown digging deep into the ground below.

This design was not only a stylistic choice, but one that sought to convey the Dufilho mastery over all of the composite parts of the pharmacy. The snake for the animals, whose horns, blood, organs, and bones could all find their way into medicinal cures. The tree of life, blooming with all of the plants one might need to harvest. The ground and all of her minerals, bright calomel and silver and gold.

Today, herbal supplements, tinctures, and teas are quite popular, and well-proven: many people swear by the laxative effects of senna and the calming of lavender, among other things. But even the medicines delivered in sterile pill-form today got their start somewhere, and at times they are hardly separated at all from their natural ancestors, although the potency has often been increased through processing. Over the next few weeks we will discuss a few examples, namely digoxin, nitrates, and ergot. Along the way there are stories of discovery, advancement, and – in the case of at least one – magic.

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05/09/2026

We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who donated to the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum this . Your generous contribution helps to keep the Pharmacy Museum’s mission alive and growing. Donors like you, who champion nonprofits and small businesses, are the driving force that empowers us to keep moving forward.

Thank you.

05/08/2026

Join the Historic BK House & Gardens on Sunday, May 17 for Dining by Design, an elegant evening celebrating design, culture, and the timeless spirit of New Orleans in honor of Historic BK House & Gardens’ Bicentennial.
Hosted in our historic French Quarter home and courtyard, Dining by Design will showcase imaginative tablescapes and florals created by leading designers and tastemakers, alongside exceptional cuisine by Pigeon Catering & Events, libations, music by violinist Abraham Santos Fernandez, and Alliance Francaise DJs William Clancy and Alan Nobili.
Featuring designs by Keith Carroll, Victoria Fager, Vesta Fort, Rebekah Founds, Celeste Marshall, Maria Wink Meyers + Kim Starr Wise, Ware Porter, Rebecca Singley, and Maureen Stevens Design.
Co-chaired by Randle Looney and Colleen Connor, proceeds from the evening directly support the preservation and restoration of BK House’s art, textiles, and ephemera.
For more information, please visit bkhouse.org/programs/
📍 Historic BK House & Gardens
✨ Celebrating 200 years of style, stories, and sophistication.

Join us Sunday, May 17 for Dining by Design, an elegant evening celebrating design, culture, and the timeless spirit of New Orleans in honor of Historic BK House & Gardens’ Bicentennial.

Hosted in our historic French Quarter home and courtyard, Dining by Design will showcase imaginative tablescapes and florals created by leading designers and tastemakers, alongside exceptional cuisine by Pigeon Catering & Events, libations, music by violinist Abraham Santos Fernandez, and Alliance Francaise DJs William Clancy and Alan Nobili.

Featuring designs by Keith Carroll, Victoria Fager, Vesta Fort, Rebekah Founds, Celeste Marshall, Maria Wink Meyers + Kim Starr Wise, Ware Porter, Rebecca Singley, and Maureen Stevens Design.

Co-chaired by Randle Looney and Colleen Connor, proceeds from the evening directly support the preservation and restoration of BK House’s art, textiles, and ephemera.

For more information, please visit bkhouse.org/programs/

📍 Historic BK House & Gardens
✨ Celebrating 200 years of style, stories, and sophistication

05/08/2026

“I have seen my death” - Anna Bertha Ludwig, wife of Wilhelm Röntgen, upon seeing her X-ray.

In the winter of 1895, Wilhelm Röntgen could be found almost always in his laboratory, by all reports working with a fervor every night. He had eaten all his meals there, and even slept there between his experiments. This work had been sparked by an experiment with invisible cathode rays in October, where he discovered what he referred to as a “new light,” a light that could pass through objects that were opaque to the naked eye. By coincidence, during the course of these experiments, as he passed his hand over the experiment area, he discovered something quite frightening – his own skeletal hand, impressed upon the film. Soon he was ready to move on to new specimens. On the evening of the 22nd of December, his wife volunteered, placing her left hand upon the photographic film that had replaced Röntgen’s initial, less stable chemical plates. The result was a ghostly impression of her skeleton, each finger carefully defined– excepting, of course, her ring finger, obscured by a circle of black. Her wedding ring.

Röntgen was himself puzzled by the nature of these “new lights,” and referred to them as “x-rays,” due to the mathematical definition of x, for “unknown.” His contemporaries would refer to these rays as “Röntgen Rays,” but the term x-ray took over the popular consciousness.

Mr. Röntgen’s “unknown rays” were an interesting fad for society. His findings were first published in the Vienna Newspaper in early January, and then translated for Nature by the end of that same month, followed swiftly by a publication in Science. Soon, x-ray images were being published in magazines, too – not just of human bodies but of other animals, as well as non-living things like coin purses.

While the medical usage of these pictures was quickly understood, people were just generally taken with the concept of this new form of photography, which promised to reveal the unseen and really show what a person was made of.

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05/01/2026

“Hickory College is one room rural school in Lewiston, New York. An excellent library, a new moving picture machine […] piano, radio, record player, games, paints, and an ultraviolet ray health lamp are there.” – K. Bowers

This is a quote from a thesis about essential items for a successful classroom, published in 1956. While the primary focus is on audio-visual equipment, Hickory College is given as an example of an exemplary elementary school classroom that others should emulate. Most of these items are likely familiar to you, except the last. What is an “ultraviolet ray health lamp,” and why was it seen as a uniquely excellent classroom aide?

Last week we discussed violet wands, small handheld devices that claimed to use the power of electricity to provide cures for any number of ailments. These devices gained popularity through the early 1900s. However, by the 1940s, electricity itself was no longer as exciting to the common person as it used to be. Widely available and in most homes, the supra-natural properties that violet wands claimed to have were no longer as believable. However, invisible forces have always held interest, and it wasn’t long before UV stepped onto the scene.

Ultraviolet rays were discovered very early in the 19th century, but the technology required to mass-produce did not advance until much later on. This presented an opportunity to Sun-Kraft Inc, who produced a popular series of portable “health lamps,” starting in the 1940s. Similarly to the violet wands, Sun-Kraft promised that these small lamps could heal wounds, tuberculosis, psoriasis, acne, and other skin conditions. Soon enough, they were seen as a health tool, good for young children in schools and the adults at home – leading to the comment that a school with a UV health lamp was uniquely forward thinking in its toolkit. This popularity was short-lived, however– in 1951, the FDA brought a decree of destruction to Sun Kraft, forcing them to turn off the lights forever.

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05/01/2026

What a beautiful evening.

✨The New Orleans Pharmacy Museum would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who came out to make Wednesday night so special. Thank you to all the wonderful guests for spending time with us, to .silverdollars for the beautiful music, for the delicious oysters, and for the perfectly refreshing libations.

We are grateful for the opportunity to share the museum with this community in celebration of all the beauty our amazing city has to offer. We’ll see you again soon✨

04/29/2026

This , help the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum continue our mission.

The Pharmacy Museum’s central tenet is studying the past to gain understanding of the present as a means of envisioning the future of healthcare. Our operational approach is multi-modal and encompasses the following categories: preservation, scholarship, public engagement and collaboration.

The New Orleans Pharmacy Museum strives to further our continued mission of preservation and education through two primary cornerstones of our institution: the ongoing conservation of our 200-year-old building and the artifacts held within it, and the Pharmacy Museum’s commitment to inclusion, education, community, and access. Your generosity goes towards restoration of our historic building and artifacts, community events and outreach, free tours for student field trips, and so much more.

Early giving is from Tuesday, April 28th through Monday, May 4th. is on Tuesday, May 5th.

A digital donation can by made by scanning the QR code, or by visiting https://www.givenola.org/organization/new-orleans-pharmacy-museum

We appreciate your support and your commitment to historic preservation.

Thank you.

04/24/2026

An issue with much of modern medicine and the human psyche is the fact that, in general, disease cures and treatments are not instant, and diseases themselves are often slowly progressive. People want to be able to “feel it work”—this is why we love Vics VaporRub, even though it doesn’t decongest (the strong menthol odor simply makes it feel that way), and in part why so many 19th century patent medicines included so much alcohol. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that when electricity came onto the market, the idea of using it as a health tool with a shocking twist caught on quickly.

You might be familiar with the glass-tube rods that are the focus of this article from TikTok, where they have found new life as new-age skincare “tools.” These violet-ray wands are based on technology pioneered by Nikola Tesla and perfected by Frederick F. Strong in 1897, in which a Tesla coil was placed into a vacuum-tube, producing a bright violet glow. When applied near the skin, the electric current would provide a mild spark along the skin, causing a buzzing sensation. The ability to “feel” these devices was important – soon, marketers began to sell the violet wands en masse for any number of ailments, along with claims that you could “feel it work”. For example, the manual for the Master Violet Ray produced by the Master Electric Company states that these devices are “agreeable and exhilarating” to use, and that they are “positive and certain” in their rapid effects upon the body.

Just what those effects were, according to the manufacturers, varied immensely. There is some evidence that these devices, when used long-term, can help to kill acne-causing bacteria – this was a strong selling point even in the early 1900s. However, during the Great Depression, violet wands could be found for sale with the claim to treat the following: Rheumatism, lumbago, neuritis, goiter, tonsillitis, gonorrhea, “pelvic inflammation,” brain fog, along with an endless number of other ailments, all with uniquely shaped attachments one could purchase separately, of course.

04/21/2026

🌙Don’t forget: Sally Baby's Three Silver Opera LIVE at the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum on Wednesday, April 29th from 7PM to 10PM. Tickets are almost sold out. 🎺 Ticket availability at the door the night of the concert is dependent on available space and not guaranteed!
✨Also: TOMORROW (4/22) is the last day to reserve your Bright Sides in advance with your ticket purchase! 🦪 A limited amount of oysters will be available for purchase during the show, so come early and get ‘em while they last!

Tickets: https://fareharbor.com/embeds/book/pharmacymuseum/items/701655/?full-items=yes&flow=1039548

For current NOPM members, please email [email protected] to secure your discounted tickets. We can’t wait to see you!