Lloyd Library and Museum, Historical Research Center for the Natural Health Movement (Ohio, USA)

Hours: Monday to Saturday 9:00am- 4pm

Location: 917 Plum Street, Cincinnati OH 45202
Contact: (513) 721-3707, archivist@lloydlibrary.org
Access: contact library in advance of visit
Website address: http://www.lloydlibrary.org/ 

The Library holds, acquires, preserves, and provides access to both historic and current books and journals, as well as archival materials, on a wide variety of disciplines that fall under the following subjects: natural history, botany, pharmacy, medicine, scientific history, and visual arts.  The collection contains materials related to the discovery of new medicinal agents in plants, the history and the uses of natural products, the history and development of pharmacy and pharmaceuticals, b current herbal medicine and alternative therapies.  There are over 200,000 volumes in the collection.  There are nearly 1000 linear feet of archival and special collections materials, which provide information on the historic aspects of the Lloyds, their pharmacy, and pharmaceutical development.  These primary resources enhance our understanding of current pharmaceutical practice, methods, drug development, and medicinal botany.

Collections within the Lloyd archives include manuscript collections, some unique collections containing pharmaceutical and horticultural pamphlets and catalogs, and the ephemeral holdings of the library.  Manuscript collections include materials from John Uri Lloyd, Curtis Gates Lloyd, the Lloyd Brothers Pharmacy, other Lloyd family members, the Eclectic Medical College of Cincinnati, the Walker papers, Varro “Tip” Tyler papers, as well as others.  The special collections contain drug price lists, seed catalogs, drug price lists, and other similar items.  Ephemeral holdings include photographs, medals, pharmacy paraphernalia, bottles of Lloyd Brothers Specifics Medicines, and other related materials.  

Collections within the Lloyd museum and art holdings include a variety of large and small pharmaceutical equipment and materials, including extractors, mortars and pestles, medicine bottles (primarily from Lloyd Brothers, Pharmacists, Inc., but also from other manufacturers largely contemporary with the Lloyds), medical office equipment, and other such items.  The museum collection also holds a variety of other items, including diplomas from the Eclectic Medical Institute (not inclusive – donated items only), awards, plaques, and other memorabilia related to individuals and organizations whose archival records are also held at the Lloyd.  The art collection consists of original artworks, photographs, and other related items. Some of it dates from the time of the Lloyds, while other pieces are more recent.  Significant holdings include select works from J. Augustus Knapp, commissioned by John Uri and Curtis Gates Lloyd for a variety of projects, as well as the Vesalius Trust Collection of Art in the Service of Science, which consists of the work of independent medical illustrators, generally members of the Association of Medical Illustrators, which have been donated to the Lloyd through the Vesalius Trust, a non-profit organization

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