226  Memoir  of  Robert  Shoemaker.       { AmMay"i8P97.arm" 
In  1 83 1  Robert  was  apprenticed  to  William  Scattergood,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Society  of  Friends,  to  learn  the  drug  business.  Many  of 
the  prominent  apothecaries  of  this  city  were,  at  that  period,  mem- 
bers of  this  religious  society. 
The  store  of  Wm.  Scattergood  was  at  the  corner  of  Second  and 
Green  Streets,  Philadelphia. 
The  aptitude  and  ability  of  the  young  apprentice  was  shown  by 
his  purchase  of  the  store  in  1837,  when  only  twenty  years  of  age. 
In  1837  Robert  commenced  the  preparation  of  the  plasters  of  the 
U.  S.  Pharmacopoeia.  While  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  plasters, 
his  attention  was  directed  by  the  late  Prof.  William  Procter  to  the 
value  of  the  residuum  liquid  which  had  been  allowed  to  run  to  waste. 
By  his  request  and  advice  he  prepared  for  him  some  glycerine  from 
this  waste  liquor,  which  was  presented  by  Prof.  Procter  as  the  first 
glycerine  made  in  this  city,  if  not  in  America  (1846). 
Glycerine  had  not  then  come  into  use,  medicinally  or  in  the  arts, 
and  there  was  no  demand  for  it.  In  1848  the  French  medical  jour- 
nals called  attention  to  its  use  in  pulmonary  complaints.  This  notice 
of  its  use  created  a  demand  among  the  medical  profession,  and  in 
1848  Mr.  Shoemaker  made  the  first  glycerine  that  was  sold  in  this 
market ;  the  quantity  was  small  and  the  price  was  $4.00  per  pound. 
The  entire  product  sold  in  1848  was  15  pounds.  As  the  demand  in- 
creased, importation  of  glycerine  commenced,  and  the  price  fell.  In 
1849  Mr.  Shoemaker  made  about  200  pounds,  the  price  averaging 
about  $2.70  per  pound.1 
In  1852  his  brother,  Benjamin  H.  Shoemaker,  was  taken  into 
partnership  with  him.  A  specialty  of  the  firm  was  the  manufacture 
of  spread  plasters,  which  acquired  a  high  reputation  in  the  trade; 
they  were  the  first  in  this  city  to  engage  in  this  specialty.  Adhesive 
plasters,  spread  on  muslin,  had  been  in  use  many  years,  but  the 
apothecary  had  been  obliged  to  spread  all  other  plasters  on  sheep- 
skin, as  the  occasion  required. 
During  his  apprenticeship  Robert  Shoemaker  was  denied  the 
advantages  of  attending  the  instruction  given  by  the  College  of 
Pharmacy. 
The  lecture  course  was  in  the  evenings,  generally  the  most  busy 
time  with  the  apothecary.  He  was  obliged  to  make  good,  as  far  as 
possible,  the  loss  of  this  opportunity  by  self-instruction,  and  in  con- 
1  An  interesting  paper,  by  Mr.  Shoemaker,  on  this  subject  will  be  found  in 
the  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  June,  1879. 
