Silver pill box, Ireland, 1701-1745

Silver pill box, owned by Mrs Mc Guire, possibly the gift of Dean Swift, inscribed in verse, 1701-1800

This pill box was believed to have been given to a Mrs McGuire by Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), the author and poet who later became the Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin. The inscription reads:

“To Mrs McGuire

Within I hold

What cures a cold

When Flegm distils

Take two small pills

To clear your chest

Probatum est”

Probatum est is Latin for “it is recommended”. “Flegm” is an old spelling of phlegm, the slimy often green coloured mucus brought up by coughing.

Pill boxes were used to carry drugs prescribed by the local doctor or if the owner needed to take particular pills on a regular basis. They were sometimes expensive items, engraved or decorated and exchanged as gifts.