December 2,1871.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
459 
Cmrcsptota. 
*** No notice can be taken of anonymous communica¬ 
tions. Whatever is intended for insertion must be authenti¬ 
cated by the name and address of the writer ; not necessarily 
for publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. 
Pharmaceutical Aid for Chicago College. 
Sir,—Oar pharmaceutical brethren in Chicago have lost by 
the great lire, their College, with its library, lecture-specimens, 
apparatus, herbarium and furniture. Worse still, many of its 
founders, and most of its best supporters in Chicago, in short, 
six wholesale and forty-six retail druggists have lost their 
businesses and all their property, and, therefore, the means 
of raising the College from its ashes. Under these circum¬ 
stances, they beg for aid from fellow-workers. They do not 
ask us to send help to themselves ; for their railroads and lakes, 
and their indomitable energy and pluck, are still left to them; 
moreover, the druggists of New York have sent them £350, 
San Francisco nearly £200, and so on; but they do ask all 
interested in pharmacy in Great Britain to aid them in re¬ 
instating their College. I am sure they will not appeal in vain. 
The accompanying letters show the condition into which 
pharmacy and the pharmacists of Chicago have been thrown 
by the great conflagration. In a private letter Professor 
Ebert tells me that the loss in respect of the College is 
about £2000. There is a partial insurance, but it is in Chicago 
offices, and therefore, of little value. 
In responding to this appeal, I shall be happy to act with 
a small committee, representing the wholesale and retail 
druggists of our cities and provinces. Already the Presi¬ 
dent of the Pharmaceutical Society, Alderman Sir Thomas 
Dakin, lately the Lord Mayor of London, the President of 
the Pharmaceutical Conference, and Thomas Hyde Hills, 
Esq., have consented to act on such a committee. Mean while, 
I shall be glad to receive here, at 17, Bloomsbury Square, 
London, books and specimens or apparatus for lecture-illus¬ 
tration, with contributions wherewith to purchase the same. 
Cheques and post-office orders may be drawn in my name; the 
former being crossed “London and Westminster Bank,” and 
the latter made payable at “ High Holborn.” I will undertake 
to forward all parcels, and have good grounds for stating that 
freightage will be reduced and customs’ duties remitted. 
The iirst list of contributors and subscribers will be pub¬ 
lished next week. Yours faithfully, 
John Attfield. 
“Chicago College of Pharmacy. 
“ To Professor Attfield, 
“■London, England. 
“ Chicago,' October 31s£, 1871. 
“ My dear Sir,—The interest you have always shown in 
our College leads me to lay before you a statement of the 
loss we have sustained, thinking that in your extensive inter¬ 
course with British pharmacists you might be able to secure 
aid for us in replacing the College in its former position of 
usefulness. 
“ We would not make this application but for the fact 
that nearly all our active members have lost, like the College, 
all they possessed. In this really lies our weakness, as, other¬ 
wise, we could easily build it up again. All our library, 
cabinets of specimens, herbarium, apparatus and implements 
for instruction, book-cases, furniture, and many other articles 
of value, collected by years of effort, with the entire stock of 
the Pharmacist, are gone. The College of late was more 
prosperous than ever, and its influence was becoming a 
power for good in the elevation of Western pharmacy. 
L T nder such circumstances, we feel that others interested in 
the promotion of the progress of pharmacy may be induced 
to assist us in reviving the College, and would ask you to 
represent us wherever you find those who are interested in 
our endeavours. We do not lack willing hands nor strong 
hearts to do the work set before us, and with the assistance 
and sympathy of our friends, we trust the future of our 
beloved College may be far better than its past. 
“ Thanking you for your interest in our welfare, we 
“ Remain yours respectfully, 
“ Albert E. Ebert, 
“ Corr. Secy. Chicago College of Pharmacy, 
“ Corner of State and 12 th Streets, Chicago, 
“ U. S. Ar 
The Chicago Catastrophe. 
Sir,—So many inquiries have reached me during the 
past week or two concerning pharmacists in Chicago, and 
the extent of the losses they have sustained in the late fearful 
conflagration, that I have thought I might send you the 
accompanying letter from Professor Ebert, believing that, 
although not written with any view to publication, it can 
hardly fail to interest your readers. 
The appeal it contains on behalf of the College of Phar¬ 
macy can scarcely pass unheeded by English pharmacists. 
There can be little doubt that our publishers and publishing 
societies, if rightly approached, would willingly aid in the 
undertaking; there may be many duplicate or little used 
pharmaceutical books in the libraries of your readers which 
would be cheerfully presented to make good the loss; and 
in other ways your readers will, doubtless, readily contribute. 
When in Chicago, in September, I visited the rooms occu¬ 
pied by the College, and found very efficient arrangements 
for educational purposes, evening meetings, and the like, 
though necessarily, in a young institution, on a somewhat 
small scale; too small, I should suppose, for the number of 
students who appear to have entered at the beginning of the 
present ill-fated session. 
I am, yours very truly, 
Henry B. Brady. 
New castle-on-Tyne, Nov. 18th, 1871. 
P.S. In the letter appended I have eliminated a few sen¬ 
tences of purely personal character. 
“ To Henry B. Brady, F.L.S., 
“ Newcastle on-Tyne. 
“ Chicago, Nov. 3rd, 1871. 
“ My dear Friend,—Your most welcome and sympathetic 
letter has just come to hand, and was opened by our mutual 
and unfortunate friend Sargent, who is making (like many 
others of our colleagues whom the “ fire fiend ” did not spare) 
my store his headquarters until his (which is being located 
on the corner of Wabash and 16th Streets) is finished. Mr. 
Sargent and myself were much pleased to hear from you, 
and of your safe arrival on the shores of generous old 
England, whom Chicago will hereafter only remember as a 
distant friend, extending to us the liberal assistance now 
pouring in at this hour of distress. We all thank her, and 
shall never forget this friendship of humanity when our 
troubles are over, and our ship again sails in calm water. 
I am safe as far as my personal safety and that of my busi¬ 
ness is concerned, but I may yet become a heavy loser should 
the insurance companies do no better than they appear 
to promise at present. The conflagration was fearful, and no 
pen has yet written an account that has done justice to the 
ravages of this terrible fire. Our colleagues who suffered 
(and they number from 40 to 50), like the balance of the popu¬ 
lace, saved really nothing. All was consumed, there being 
no time left to attend to anything but personal safety. Among 
those you met at Mr. Buck’s house only two escaped, Mr. 
Ehrman and myself. Messrs. Buck and Rayner lost both 
stores; they have again opened on the corner of State and 
16th Streets; Mr. Whitfield has opened on the cor. of State and 
18th Streets, Mr. Sargent on the cor. of Wabash and 16th, 
Mr. Parson on the cor. of Wabash and 14th, Bliss and Sharp 
have removed to their store cor. Wabash and 22nd. The 
College and its contents were burned the first night. We 
have lost all, with the whole stock of the Pharmacist. I 
have written a letter to our mutual friend Attfield, from 
whom I had a pleasant and sympathetic letter the day before 
yesterday, in which I enclose a personal appeal for the Chi¬ 
cago College in the way of contributions of specimens, books, 
etc. These we cannot purchase even if we had the money, 
which we do not ask. I know you will plead for our cause, 
and therefore thank you beforehand. The fire was checked 
on the corner of Harrison Street, in close vicinity of Ehrman’s 
store. Just imagine for one moment the whole of the south 
division, from Ehrman’s store north, and the whole of the 
north division as far as we drove that Saturday afternoon in 
September, all gone, excepting one solitary house. Nothing 
is left of those fine buildings which I was so proud in point¬ 
ing out to you during our drive and our various rambles 
while you were here. I have so many friends who were 
rich and are to-day poor,—nothing left them but their good 
names and credit (which is something) to start again in 
life. But many are far advanced in life, and it seems so 
hard that they again must commence at the foot of the ladder. 
