The Engel Pharmacy

We are starting a new year researching a significant lot of objects from the Engel pharmacy in Iași. Bought by the history museum in Cluj in 1982 and dated to the 19th and 20th centuries, they form a considerable lot (we usually do not have so many artifacts from a single pharmacy), that is atypical (the collection in Cluj mainly focuses on Transylvania and Banat), and special (through the inclusion of numerous financial documents). Our study reveals the history of the ”At the Crown” pharmacy and of the Engel family, but also opens towards research topics such as the history of drug trade, early marketing in Romania, economical and commercial history, even contraception and promotional gift making. In fact, it provides a very specialized perspective on the modernization of Romania.