A.B. Hirsch Drug Store, Boonville, Missouri, Records, 1904-1963, n.d. (C4032)
3.4 linear feet
INTRODUCTION
The collection contains a sampling of prescription records from the A.B. Hirsch Drug Store
located in Boonville, Missouri. Also included are papers pertaining to Vico Salve, which was developed and sold by Asbury B. Hirsch.
DONOR INFORMATION
The Hirsch Drug Store Records were donated by Kathy Borgman for the Friends of
Arrow Rock to the State Historical Society of Missouri on 28 September 2007 (Accession No.
6161).
INSTITUTIONAL SKETCH
Asbury B. Hirsch was born on January 8,
1879, in Warrensburg, Missouri to Jacob Hirsch and Leah Alice Asbury Hirsch. He graduated from Warrensburg State Teachers
College and then attended St. Louis College of Pharmacy. After graduation, he passed the state boards and became a registered pharmacist. In 1901, he opened the Hirsch Drug Store at 319 Main Street in Boonville. After Hirsch died in 1942, his wife, Blanche, ran the store until after World War II when A.B. Hirsch, Jr. returned from the army and took over the operation. The Hirsch family sold the store in 1979.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
The collection consists of a sampling of the prescription records kept by Hirsch. The remainder of the prescription records and other drug store related materials are held by the Friends of Arrow Rock in Arrow Rock, Missouri. Many of the early prescriptions are compounded prescriptions, meaning they were mixed onsite at the drug store. The compounded prescriptions are of particular interest because they contain the ingredients and amounts needed for the medication. The collection also contains several veterinary prescriptions, including one for chicken cholera. The records offer a look at the evolution of the pharmaceutical industry, from the early twentieth century when medications had to be
made by the pharmacist to the latter part of the century when mass-manufactured medications were sold by drug companies.
The prescription records were kept by Hirsch in bundles that consisted of approximately 100 prescriptions each. The
prescription records were organized by prescription number and have been kept in the original order. There are a few
prescriptions from 1942 and 1943 that do not have prescription numbers and they were kept in the original order. The prescription number and the price of the prescription were written on the prescription by the pharmacist. The prescriptions generally include the pharmacy name, doctor’s name, office location, and name of the patient. Some prescriptions also include a diagnosis of the patient’s illness.
Also included in the collection are narcotic forms from 1918 through 1924. The Harrison Narcotics Tax Act of 1914 required that duplicate-order forms and the prescriptions be retained by the pharmacists for dispensed narcotics, which included opium, morphine, heroin, and cocaine.
The collection also includes several letters to A.B. Hirsch, Sr. requesting jars of his Vico Salve. The salve, which he produced locally, was advertised as a "cure-all" for many ailments. Hirsch put up a roadside stand along Highway 40, where he gave directions and sold the salve to travelers.
FOLDER LIST
| f. 1 | Prescription #101-988, 1904-1905 |
| f. 2 | Prescription #4000-4799, 1909 |
| f. 3 | Prescription #5801-10294, 1910-1911 |
| f. 4 | Prescription #11900-15399, 1912-1913 |
| f. 5 | Prescription #16001-17399, 1914 |
| f. 6 | Prescription #17498-19981, 1915-1916 |
| f. 7 | Prescription #20094-20799, 1916 |
| f. 8 | Prescription #22200-23300, 1917 |
| f. 9 | Prescription #23435-24399, 1917-1918 |
| f. 10 | Prescription #25000-26799, 1918 |
| f. 11 | Prescription #B2000-B2299, 1918 |
| f. 12 | Narcotic forms, 1918 |
| f. 13 | Prescription #27166-28299, 1919 |
| f. 14 | Prescription #28601-29998, 1919 |
| f. 15 | Prescription #B2901-B3399, 1919 |
| f. 16 | Narcotic forms, 1919 |
| f. 17 | Prescription #30900-32099, 1920 |
| f. 18 | Prescription #32300-33099, 1920 |
| f. 19 | Prescription #B3700-B3799, 1920 |
| f. 20 | Narcotic forms, 1920 |
| f. 21 | Prescription #33999-35099, 1921 |
| f. 22 | Prescription #B4000-B4199, 1921 |
| f. 23 | Narcotic forms, 1921 |
| f. 24 | Prescription #35700-36900, 1922 |
| f. 25 | Prescription #B5000-B5099, 1922 |
| f. 26 | Prescription #37801-40424, 1923-1924 |
| f. 27 | Prescription #B5301-B6199, 1923-1924 |
| f. 28 | Narcotic forms, 1922-1924 |
| f. 29 | Prescription #41500-42617, 1925 |
| f. 30 | Prescription #42800-43700, 1926 |
| f. 31 | Prescription #43801-45099, 1926-1927 |
| f. 32 | Prescription #45100-45999, 1927-1928 |
| f. 33 | Prescription #46101-46899, 1928 |
| f. 34 | Prescription #48100-49199, 1929-1930 |
| f. 35 | Prescription #49300-49999, 1930 |
| f. 36 | Prescription #B9700-B11099, 1930-1933 |
| f. 37 | Prescription #51800-55099, 1932-1933 |
| f. 38 | Prescription #55300-57099, 1934 |
| f. 39 | Prescription #B11400-B11499, 1934 |
| f. 40 | Prescription #57100-58599, 1935 |
| f. 41 | Prescription #59900-61098, 1936 |
| f. 42 | Prescription #B12400-B12699, 1936 |
| f. 43 | Prescription #63400-64899, 1937-1938 |
| f. 44 | Prescription #B13000-B13499, 1937-1938 |
| f. 45 | Prescription #64700-67999, 1938-1939 |
| f. 46 | Prescription #68000-68499, 1939 |
| f. 47 | Prescription #68500-69699, 1939 |
| f. 48 | Prescription #70000-70599, 1940 |
| f. 49 | Prescription #71601-73799, 1940-1941 |
| f. 50 | Prescription #73900-77499, 1941-1942 |
| f. 51 | Prescription #B14700-B16099, 1941-1942 |
| f. 52 | Prescriptions, 1942 August-December |
| f. 53 | Prescriptions, 1942 |
| f. 54 | Prescriptions, 1943-1944 |
| f. 55 | Prescriptions, 1943 January-April |
| f. 56 | Prescriptions, 1943 May-November |
| f. 57 | Prescriptions, 1943 December |
| f. 58 | Prescription #89800-89899, 1945 |
| f. 59 | Prescriptions, 1945 May-December |
| f. 60 | Prescription #B20500-B20782, 1951-1952 |
| f. 61 | Prescription #B20783-B21211, 1952-1953 |
| f. 62 | Prescription #B21212-B21499, 1953-1955 |
| f. 63 | Vico Salve, 1955-1963, n.d. |
INDEX TERMS
These index terms are the subjects, people, places, etc. under which this collection is listed in all available
indexes at the Western Historical Manuscript Collection-Columbia. If you are interested in a specific index
term, please contact the reference staff
| A.B. Hirsch Drug Store, Boonville, Missouri | f. 1-63 |
| Drug stores--Missouri, Boonville | f. 1-63 |
| Hirsch, Asbury B. (1899-1942) | f. 1-53 |
| Hirsch, Asbury B., Jr. (1918- ) | f. 54-63 |
| Missouri, Boonville--Drug stores | f. 1-63 |
| Missouri, Boonville--Pharmacy | f. 1-63 |
| Missouri, Boonville--Physicians | f. 1-63 |
| Prescription writing | f. 1-62 |
| Vico salve | f. 63 |
|