Pharmacographia by Friedrich A. Flückiger and Daniel Hanbury

(1 User reviews)   2504
Hanbury, Daniel, 1825-1875 Hanbury, Daniel, 1825-1875
English
Have you ever wondered where medicine comes from? Not from the pharmacy counter, but from the actual plants and minerals that heal us? This isn't a novel—it's a real-life treasure hunt. 'Pharmacographia' is the massive, century-old record of two men trying to pin down the entire world of medicinal drugs. They chased stories from ancient texts, gathered samples from across the globe, and tried to separate fact from dangerous folklore. The real mystery is: can you truly catalog nature's pharmacy before it changes or disappears? This book is their attempt to solve it.
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Illustrations have been moved so they do not break up paragraphs. Old or antiquated spellings have been preserved. Typographical and punctuation errors have been silently corrected. PHARMACOGRAPHIA. A HISTORY OF THE PRINCIPAL DRUGS OF VEGETABLE ORIGIN, MET WITH IN GREAT BRITAIN AND BRITISH INDIA. BY FRIEDRICH A. FLÜCKIGER, PHIL. DR., PROFESSOR IN THE UNIVERSITY OF STRASSBURG, AND DANIEL HANBURY, F.R.S., FELLOW OF THE LINNEAN AND CHEMICAL SOCIETIES OF LONDON. _SECOND EDITION._ _London_: MACMILLAN AND CO. 1879. [_The Right of Translation and Reproduction is reserved._] PREFACE. PHARMACOGRAPHIA, the word which gives the title to this book, indicates the nature of the work to which it has been prefixed. The term means simply a _writing about drugs_; and it has been selected not without due consideration, as in itself distinctive, easily quoted, and intelligible in many languages. Pharmacographia, in its widest sense, embodies and expresses the joint intention of the authors. It was their desire, not only to write upon the general subject, and to utilize the thoughts of others; but that the book which they decided to produce together should contain observations that no one else had written down. It is in fact a record of personal researches on the principal drugs derived from the vegetable kingdom, together with such results of an important character as have been obtained by the numerous workers on Materia Medica in Europe, India, and America. Unlike most of their predecessors in Great Britain during this century, the authors have not included in their programme either Pharmacy or Therapeutics; nor have they attempted to give their work that diversity of scope which would render it independent of collateral publications on Botany and Chemistry. While thus restricting the field of their inquiry, the authors have endeavoured to discuss with fuller detail many points of interest which are embraced in the special studies of the pharmacist; and at the same time have occasionally indicated the direction in which further investigations are desirable. A few remarks on the heads under which each particular article is treated, will explain more precisely their design. The drugs included in the present work are chiefly those which are commonly kept in store by pharmacists, or are known in the drug and spice market of London. The work likewise contains a small number which belong to the _Pharmacopœia of India_: the appearance of this volume seemed to present a favourable opportunity for giving some more copious notice of the latter than has hitherto been attempted. Supplementary to these two groups must be placed a few substances which possess little more than historical interest, and have been introduced rather in obedience to custom, and for the sake of completeness, than on account of their intrinsic value. Each drug is headed by the Latin name, followed by such few synonyms as may suffice for perfect identification, together in most cases with the English, French, and German designation. In the next section, the _Botanical Origin_ of the substance is discussed, and the area of its growth, or locality of its production is stated. Except in a few instances, no attempt has been made to furnish botanical descriptions of the plants to which reference is made. Such information may readily be obtained from original and special sources, of which we have quoted some of the most important. Under the head of _History_, the authors have endeavoured to trace the introduction of each substance into medicine, and to bring forward other points in connection therewith, which have not hitherto been much noticed in any recent work. This has involved researches which have been carried on for several years, and...

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Forget about a traditional plot with characters and a climax. Pharmacographia is a different kind of adventure. Think of it as the ultimate field guide, written by Friedrich Flückiger and Daniel Hanbury in the late 1800s. Their mission was straightforward but huge: describe every important medicinal plant and drug known to science at the time. They tracked each substance from its botanical source, through its history in different cultures, to its chemical makeup and use in medicine. The 'story' is their journey to create order from a world of chaotic, global knowledge.

Why You Should Read It

This book is a time capsule. Reading it, you feel the excitement of discovery that these pioneers must have felt. You see how a simple bark from South America becomes a life-saving fever treatment, or how a common garden flower holds potent medicine. It connects dots between ancient healers and modern chemists. It’s not a dry list; it’s a conversation across centuries about how humans have always looked to nature for help. The dedication is palpable on every page.

Final Verdict

This is a specialist's book, but its appeal is broader. It’s perfect for history buffs fascinated by science, gardeners curious about plant lore, or anyone in healthcare who wants to understand the deep roots of their field. It’s not a cover-to-cover read for most, but an incredible book to dip into. Open to any page, and you’ll find a story about where our medicines come from. A rewarding, if dense, look at the foundation of modern pharmacy.



🔖 Usage Rights

This text is dedicated to the public domain. Access is open to everyone around the world.

Joshua Ramirez
10 months ago

A must-have for anyone studying this subject.

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4 out of 5 (1 User reviews )

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