A 9½in (23cm) wide George III example had 13 compartments with bottles and a measure, and a base drawer with four extra bottles and a balance. It went to a collector within estimate at £450 in the April 17-18 auction.
A similarly dated, slightly larger cabinet with sliding compartments to the base, scales and weights made £550. Meanwhile, a bid of £900 secured a 20in (50cm) wide 19th century example, with a fitted interior holding labelled lidded bottles, a balance on a lift-out tray. To the fall front was a lidded box bearing a plaque: Prize Medal 1862 For Excellence of Manufacture. Savory & Moore, Chemists to the Queen, London.
Always popular decorative objects, a (74cm) apothecary’s display jar and cover, decorated with the royal United Kingdom coat of arms and inscribed Magnesia took £500.
Moving on into the big time, a George III mahogany floor-standing apothecary’s cabinet, 9ft high x 7ft 11in wide (2.75 x 2.42m), with three glazed doors enclosing shelves, went to a collector at £8400, more than four times the top estimate.
