The collection documents Parke, Davis and Company, one of the largest and oldest pharmaceutical firms in America.
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents Parke, Davis and Company, one of America's oldest and largest drug makers. Parke, Davis had the first research laboratory in the American pharmaceutical industry. The company played a major role in the development of some of the principle new drugs of the twentieth century and pioneered the field of drug standardization. They were one of the first American firms to produce antitoxins, hormones, and other biologicals. They introduced new and important drugs such as adrenalin, dilantin, chlorenpleniol, and other antibiotics. They also did important research on vitamins, disinfectants, and pencillin.
The collection contains complete documentaion of all the research activities done, including research laboratory notes, correspondence, and published papers. The collection also contains corporate, financial, advertising and sales materials, photographs, and audiovisual materials. The collection is important for those researchers interested in the history of public health, the history of biologicals, pharmaceutical manufacturing and business history.
Arrangement:
Collection is divided into 13 series.
Series 1: Corporate Materials, 1887-1951
Series 2: Financial Materials, 1880-1970
Series 3: Employee/Personnel Materials, 1900-1989
Series 4: Advertising/Sales Materials, 1868-1980
Series 5: Photographs, 1866-1992
Series 6: Notebooks, 1908-1968
Series 7: Control Department Records, 1884-1931
Series 8: Formulas, 1882-1967
Series 9: Equipment Data Files, 1922-1978
Series 10: Publications, 1968-1988
Series 11: Research Materials, 1920-1978
Series 12: Drawings, 1911-1971
Series 13: Addenda, 1867-1970
Series 14: Audio Materials, 1956-1957
Historical:
Parke, Davis and Company traces it's origins to Samuel Pearce Duffield (1833-1916), a physician and pharmacist. Duffield was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and his family moved to Detroit when he was an infant. Duffield graduated from the University of Michigan in 1854 and he attended medical school at the University of Pennsylvania, latter leaving for Germany where he studied chemistry and sought treatment for his eyesight. He subsequently earned a Doctor of Philosophy from Ludwig University at Giessen in Germany. Duffield returned to Detroit in 1858 and established a retail drugstore with a strong interest in manufacturing pharmaceuticals. Duffield sought financial partners for his retail and manufacturing venture with A.L. Patrick and Francis C. Conant. Both men retracted their investments and Duffield met Hervey Coke Parke (1927-1899), a native of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Duffield and Parke formed a formal partnership in 1866. George S. Davis, a third partner and traveling salesman previously with Farrand, Sheley and Company, was added 1867. Augustus F. Jennings joined the company as a partner to head manufacturing. The company became known as Duffield, Parke, Davis, & Jennings Company. Duffield withdrew in 1869 and the name Parke, Davis & Company was adopted in 1871. The company incorporated in 1875 and began planning world-wide scientific expeditions to discover new vegetable drugs such as Guarana, Bearsfoot, Eucalyptus Globulus, and Coca. The company first showed a profit in 1876, and the first dividend paid to shareholders in 1878 and dividends paid until mid-1960s. Research was a major activity of the company.
In 1907, Parke, Davis and Company bought 340 acres in northeast Avon Township, Michigan, and called it Parkedale Farm. The farm was dedicated on October 8, 1908, and included sterilization rooms and a vaccine propagating building. By 1909 the farm included 200 horses, 25 to 50 cattle, 150 sheep, and employed 20 men. The horses produced the antitoxin for diphtheria and tetanus, the cattle produced a vaccine for smallpox preventatives, and the sheep made serum. Only the healthiest animals were used and all were well cared for. Exotic plants were also grown on the site and used for drugs. Parke-Davis' chief products were antitoxins and vaccines as well as farm crops for feeding the animals. The farm continued to produce vaccines for diphtheria, scarlet fever, tetanus, smallpox, anthrax, and in the 1950s, the Salk polio vaccine.
Due to a weakening financial position, the company became susceptible to take-over, and was purchased by Warner-Lambert in 1970. Warner Lambert, was then acquired by Pfizer in 2000. In 2007, Pfizer closed its research facilities in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Source
Rochester Hills Museum at Voon Hoosen Farm (last accessed on September 29, 2021 https://www.rochesterhills.org/Museum/LocalHistory/ParkeDavisFarm.pdf)
Parke, Davis and Company. Parke-Davis At 100...progress in the past...promise for the future. Detroit, Michigan, 1966.
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Materials at the Smithsonian Institution Libraries
Smithsonian Libraries Trade Literature Collection
Trade catalogs related to Parke, Davis & Co.; Warner-Lambert; Pfizer Pharmaceuticals; and Pfizer, Inc.
Materials at Other Organizations
Detroit Public Library, Special Collections
Parke, Davis & Company records, 1892-1959
Scrapbook of clippings, 1929-44; Excursions & Announcements, 1892-1902; and company newsletters.
University of California San Francisco
Drug Industry Documents was created by the University of California San Francisco Library in collaboration with faculty members C. Seth Landefeld, MD and Michael Steinman, MD. Originally established to house documents from an off-label marketing lawsuit against Parke-Davis (United States of America ex rel. David Franklin vs. Parke-Davis), the archive has grown to include documents from additional sources illustrating how the pharmaceutical industry, academic journals and institutions, continuing medical education organizations and regulatory/funding agencies operate in ways that are detrimental to public health.
Separated Materials:
Division of Medicine and Science, National Museum of American History
The division holds objects related to Parke, Davis that primarily include containers (boxes and glass bottles) that held phamrmaceuticals, biologicals (vaccines), crude drugs, and herb packages. See accessions: 1978.0882; 1982.0043; 1982.0043; 1984.0351; 1985.0475; 1988.3152; 1991.0415; 1992.3127; 2001.3066; 2012.0165; and 2018.5001.
Provenance:
The initial collection of approximately 185 cubic feet was donated by the Warner-Lambert Company, through Jerry A. Weisbach, Vice-President and President of the Pharmaceutical Research Division, on February 3, 1982.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Copyright held by donor and/or heirs. Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: fees for commercial use.] .
Collection Citation:
The Computer World Smithsonian Awards, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Advertisement with reproduction of photograph, about using studying microorganisms from soil samples to create antibiotics. Image shows a hand sifting dirt.
Local Numbers:
AC0001-0000001.tif (AC Scan No.)
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Printed caption on verso reads: "Keekorok, Kenya; Columbus sailed one way...Vasco da Gama another, discovering Kenya in 1498. For the next 465 years, its people lived under foreign flags. Today, the Kenyan shield-and-spears flies at the United Nations Plaza, the last of the great African game herds frolic in Kenyan national parks, and the Masai, as famous for their good looks as for their hunting prowess, consult physicians who often turn to Terramycin® (oxytetracycline) - found wherever medicine is practiced."
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Printed caption on verso reads: "Keekorok, Kenya; Columbus sailed one way...Vasco da Gama another, discovering Kenya in 1498. For the next 465 years, its people lived under foreign flags. Today, the Kenyan shield-and-spears flies at the United Nations Plaza, the last of the great African game herds frolic in Kenyan national parks, and the Masai, as famous for their good looks as for their hunting prowess, consult physicians who often turn to Terramycin® (oxytetracycline) - found wherever medicine is practiced."
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
[Trade catalogs from DeKalb Agricultural Association]
Variant company name:
"In 1912, a group of DeKalb area farmers, bankers, and newspapermen, led by Henry H. Parke, founded the DeKalb County Soil Improvement Association. This Association was later known as the DeKalb County Farm Bureau...[which later became known as] DeKalb County Agricultural Association...In 1936, the Association dropped the "County" from its name and started to supply farmers outside of the DeKalb County area...In 1938, the company developed into two organizations under one management: DeKalb Hybrid Seed Company and DeKalb Agricultural Association, Inc. The Hybrid Company was used for research only, while the Agricultural Association was responsible for the production and distribution of retail seed corn...The name "DeKalb AgResearch, Inc." was adopted in 1968...Becoming DeKalb-Pfizer Genetics, Incorporated in 1982 was the result of a merger between DeKalb AgResearch and Pfizer, Inc." [Source: DeKalb AgReserch Records, Northern Illinois University http://www.niulib.niu.edu/reghist/RC%20190.htm ] Search this
Parke, Davis & Co.; Warner-Lambert; Pfizer Pharmaceuticals; Pfizer, Inc. Search this
Notes content:
March 1898 "Complete Catalogue of the Products of the Laboratories of Parke, Davis & Co." 1914 article "A Study of the Germicidal Action of the Ultraviolet Rays" reprinted from the American Journal of Public Health. 1914 article "The Pharmacy of Adrenalin" by C.P. Beckworth, reprinted from the Journal of the American Pharm. Assoc. July 1916 "Complete Catalogue of the Products of the Laboratories of Parke, Davis & Co. Manufacturing Chemists, Detroit, Mich. U.S.A." catalog begins by listing the fluid extracts of naturally occurring herbs, plants and seeds then moves on to tinctures, extracts, pills, tablets, elixirs, syrups and lozenges. 1923 manual uses of the company's Kreso Dip No. 1 parasiticide/germicide/disinfectant Farm Sanitation product for use on livestock and poultry. January 1927 catalog that includes a January 1928 supplement bound inside. Catalogs dated 1937, 1937-1938 and 1938. A 1940 flyer advertising Dental Mapharsen in the treatment of Vincent's Angina aka "trench mouth". Mapharsen was originally developed for the treatment of syphilis. A 1941 illustrated booklet commemorating the 75th Anniversary of Parke, Davis & Co. Circa 1942 catalog for "Biological Products" including Antitoxins, Antibacterial Serums, Vaccines (smallpox & rabies), Bacterial Antigens , Diagnostic Agents, Allergenic Extracts, Miscellaneous Biologicals (Immune Globulin, Horse Serum, Hemo-Protein). April 1948 Price Supplement D. February 1949 loose-leaf drug and biological product catalog. 1969 medical-surgical products catalog (includes surgical film, gloves, gauze products, adhesive products, cotton balls). A group of 20 booklets circa 1935-1940 explaining various Parke Davis Products. Examples include, "Mycozol and Liquid Mycozol" from 1936; "Protein Sensitization: Protein Extracts for Diagnostic Testing ; "Pituitrin: The Original Pituitary Extract" (1937); "Staphylococcus Toxoid (1937); "Tetanus Antitoxin" (1936) and "Neo-Silvol: A Colloidal Combination of Silver Iodide with a Soluble Protein Base" (1939). Vaccine therapy ; serum therapy ; phylacogen therapy ; gland therapy ; diagnostic proteins ; biological products (serums, bacterins, tuberculins) ; veterinary products ; Nov-Dec 1991 The Main Event (sports journal for Pharmacists) ; "Sinutab" ; "Furosemide" tablets ; "EPT" Early Pregnancy Test ; hypodermic needles "Parke-Davis traces its history back to 1866, when Hervey Parke and George Davis formed a small company in Detroit, Michigan. They pioneered the standardization of medications and built the first modern pharmaceutical laboratory. They also developed the first organized, systematic method of clinically testing new drugs. In the first half of the 20th Century, Parke-Davis introduced a number of breakthrough products, including the first bacterial vaccine, a pure form of adrenaline, and Dilantin® (phenytoin), the first widely available treatment for epilepsy and seizure. Dilantin® remains a valuable therapy against convulsions. After World War II, Parke-Davis popularized a number of anti-infectives, developed the Salk polio vaccine for widespread use, and introduced a new line of oral contraceptives. In 1970, Warner-Lambert acquired Parke-Davis, once the world's largest drug manufacturer. In 1976, the acquisition of Parke-Davis was approved by the United States Government and in the mid-1980s, Warner-Lambert refocused on three main businesses: prescription pharmaceuticals, consumer health care products, and gums and mints. The company grew with the introduction, in the early 1980s, of the first effective cholesterol-lowering agent, Lopid." Pfizer Pharmaceuticals acquired Warner-Lambert in 2000. (See http://www.pfizer.com/pfizer/history/2000.jsp).
Includes:
Trade catalog, price lists, manual and histories
Black and white images
Color images
Physical description:
47 pieces; 3 boxes
Language:
English
Type of material:
Trade catalogs
Trade literature
Place:
Detroit, Michigan, United States
Date range:
1800s-1900s
Topic (Romaine term):
Biotechnology and biochemical equipment and supplies Search this
Trade lit related to Pfizer, the world's largest research-based biomedical and pharmaceutical company. File includes Pfizer's 100th Anniversary book, published in 1949. Booklet Pfizer Science for Brewery Progress." A technical report of stainless steel clad aluminum for cookware, utensils and appliances. Booklet about the non-caloric synthetic food sweeteners calcium and sodium cyclamaes and calcium and sodium saccharin. A marketing kit to industrial clinics and dispenseries that contained order forms for antibiotic Candettes, Toclase expectorant compound and Tyzine nasal solution, plus information about those products as well as topical antibiotic ointments for skin and eyes and Bonamine for motion sickness. Tecnical reports from Pfizer's agricultural division, issues 1-6, 100-100B, 104, 107-114 (dated May 1965 through May 1967) regarding antibiotics for chickens, dairy cows, calves, mink, turkeys, swine, beef cattle and bees, plus vitamins and minerals for horses, livestock and poultry. A 1983 pamphlet on "Pfizer and Third World Health Issues". The 1956 Annual Shareholder's Report. A 1982 speach by Pfizer Inc. president Gerald D. Laubach entitled "The Chemical Basis for Modern Therapeutics." The story of Pfizer's research reprinted from "Inight" July 1989 Issue 14. A review of current (as of Winter 1959-1960) developments in vitamins, antibiotics and pharmaceuticals in the company's sales division publication "In Brief". A flyer advertising a 1989 cruise sweepstakes for Bonine anti-motion-sickness pills. Pamphlets from the 1930s: "Quality Chemicals", "Fourteenth Exposition Chemical Industries 1933", "Chemicals December 1933" ; intravenous "Terramycin" an antibiotic. "Spectrum" issues (Spring 1964 ; Fall 1965) ; Navane
Includes:
Trade catalog, manual and histories
Black and white images
Color images
Physical description:
47 pieces; 2 boxes
Language:
English
Type of material:
Trade catalogs
Trade literature
Place:
New York, New York, United States
Date:
1900s
Topic (Romaine term):
Biotechnology and biochemical equipment and supplies Search this
