Jenny Yearous <[log in to unmask]> wrote in message news:MUSEUM-L%1999111014114725@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM... ...> have a lot of drugs/medicines in them including strychnine, digitalis, > morphine, and nitroglycerine. We are debating if we should leave the > bottles of medicine as is, or if we should dispose of the contents (drugs) > but keep the bottles .... =========================================== We have a large pharmacy collection as well as the complete contents of a Chinese herbalist store (which operated in Victoria, BC, Canada c.1910-c.1970). At our museum we have kept some medicine containers intact, some have been emptied and some of those were refilled with inert materials, and we are keeping samples from other containers. Accurate records of any such changes would be nice! The herbalist collection, most of which is on display in our 1920s museum village, is now a problem due to bugs. As our Conservator deals with this by freeze fumigation in our walk-in freezer, I have instructed her to bag and tag samples of each type of medicine/herb and have given her permission to discard the rest of the infested contents. The collection is possibily unique as a study opportunity - the complete contents of a Chinese herbalist store for a certain time-period. Modern Chinese herbalist stores have different stock in some cases. Our collection is a time-capsule of this fascinating part of our history. I believe that museums remain the best place for many researchers to go to find examples of old medicines, herbs, concoctions, foods etc. so I personally like the idea of at least saving samples. Staff safety is a factor especially with poisons, as are laws regarding drugs. Colin Macgregor Stevens Museum Curator Burnaby Village Museum 6501 Deer Lake Avenue Burnaby, BC, V5G 3T6, CANADA Phone: (604) 293-6500 FAX: (604) 293-6525 Business e-mail: [log in to unmask] Museum Webpage: http://www.burnabyparksrec.org/villagemuseum/villagemuseum.html ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ museum-l.html. You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).