Robert A. Thom (1915-1979) (after)
George A. Bender (editor)
Selection of Prints
from A History of Pharmacy in Pictures
Parke, Davis & Company, Detroit, Michigan: c. Late 1950s to Mid 1960s
Photo process prints
11.75 x 15.75 inches, image
17.5 x 21.25 inches, overall including caption
$250 each
A History of Pharmacy in Pictures
Prints after Illustrations by Robert A. Thom, c. Late 1950s-Mid 1960s
Prints after Illustrations by Robert A. Thom, c. Late 1950s-Mid 1960s
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Clockwise from top: Print from the series, two details of the portfolio cover, two details from prints in the series |
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Titles include (subject to prior sale):
The American Pharmaceutical Association (Founded in 1852)
Caventou, Pelletier and Quinine (About 1820)
A Revolution in Pharmaceutical Education (About 1871)
European and American Pharmacy Meet (1867)
American Pharmacy Builds Its Foundations (1821)
Wresting the Jungle's Secrets (About 1886)
Stanislas Limousin, Pharmacal Inventor (About 1886)
The Pharmacopoeia Comes of Age (About 1878)
Father of American Pharmacy--William Procter, Jr. (1817-1874)
The Shakers and Medicinal Herbs (About 1830)
The Standardization of Pharmaceuticals (About 1883)
This group of prints illustrates milestones in the history of pharmaceutical development. Each image is based on a painting by noted illustration artist Robert A. Thom, who was commissioned by Parke-Davis Company, an American manufacturer of pharmaceuticals, to paint them in the 1950s. The prints were separately issued, unbound in packets of six, as a series, from the late 1950s to early 1960s. The packets were provided to pharmacies to use as decoration, thereby promoting Parke-Davis. In the same period, Parke-Davis also published illustrated books featuring the paintings.
The prints available here focus on important personages and events from the 19th century, including developers of important drugs such as Joseph-Bienaimé Caventou, Pierre-Joseph Pelletier, Stanislas Limousin, William Procter, Jr., Henry H. Rusby, Albert B. Prescott, Albert B. Lyons, and the Shakers religious sect; and the establishment of institutions such as the American Pharmaceutical Association, the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, the University of Michigan's pharmacy program, and the U.S. Pharmacopoeia.
The text from the illustrated portfolio covers of one of the packets provided suggestions to drug stores on how to display thems:
Put on a Show with History of Pharmacy Pictures. Windows, walls, ledges and prescription departments of retail pharmacies may be made more interesting and attractive with these historical pictures. History of Pharmacy Pictures can be framed singly, in vertical or horizontal groups. Here illustrated and described are ideas for framing and hanging arrangements…
Parke, Davis & Company (also known as Parke-Davis) was founded in Detroit, Michigan, in 1886. It was once the world's largest pharmaceutical company and played an important role in developing modern standards of testing drugs. The company became part of Warner-Lambert in 1970, and since 2000 has been a division of Pfizer, Inc.
Robert Alan Thom was an illustrator, author and lecturer, best known for his historical paintings, including scenes from Michigan history and from the series on the history of industries such as communications, pharmacy and medicine. Born in Michigan, he studied at the Columbus Institute of Fine Arts in Ohio, then returned to Michigan, spending his career in the Detroit area. He is probably best known for his series A History of Pharmacy and A History of Medicine for the drug manufacturer Parke-Davis Company. These paintings were also reproduced in books and prints published by the company in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Thom was noted for his attention to detail and careful research, and produced illustrations for many corporate clients and university pharmacy schools. He articulated his philosophy in 1964: “I make no pretense about my work. The technique is clearly illustration. It intends to tell a story and I believe it does. I regard it as visual distillation of whatever I know to be correct about a particular historical event.” Although straightforward illustration art, a number of museums across the U.S. and Canada exhibited his work during his lifetime, including the Smithsonian Institution, the Columbus Museum of Art, the Georgia Museum of Art, Lehigh University and the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts in Maryland. In 2003, a major exhibition of his works took place at the Birmingham (MI) Historical Society. A series of paintings on the history of printing are in the collection of Rochester Institute of Technology (see References below).
Condition: Generally very good with the usual overall light toning and wear. Some with scattered waterstains or foxing, generally confined to the margins, to be matted out. Text captions can be shown, or matted out, as desired.
References:
Gilbert, Dorothy B., ed. Who’s Who in American Art. New York: American Federation of Arts and R.R. Bowker, 1959. p. 565.
“Leaving Footprints: The Artistry of Robert A. Thom.” City of Birmingham (MI). http://www.ci.birmingham.mi.us/home/index.asp?page=864 (5 June 2007).
“Robert Alan Thom.” AskArt.com. http://www.askart.com/AskART/artists/biography.aspx?artist=100540 (5 June 2007).
“Robert Thom.” Art on Campus, RIT Libraries, Rochester Institute of Technology. 2007. http://artoncampus.rit.edu/artist/35 (5 June 2007).