Metal shop sign advertising various products for sale, English, 19th century

All the items advertised by the metal sign might typically be found in a pharmacy in the 1800s. These include patent medicines – some of which were likely to have limited health benefits – medicated lozenges, infant foods and feeding bottles. Like many modern chemists, the shop also stocked non-medical items – in this case ink.

Leeches were also sold there. These were used for bloodletting, a centuries old practice once used to treat a wide range of medical conditions.