1918 Dr Ira B Hull Prescription Script Presque Isle Maine Strophanthus For Sale

This is a vintage doctor\'s prescription script dated February 20, 1918, issued by Ira B. Hull, M.D., of Presque Isle, Aroostook County, Maine. The document is a tangible artifact of early 20th-century medical practice, featuring the doctor\'s printed office hours (1 to 4 P.M. and 7:30 to 9 P.M.) and a short, early telephone number, 413-2, indicative of the period\'s rural telephony. The script is explicitly directed to Thompson\'s Pharmacy, designated as \"The Prescription Store,\" with the printed footer \"TAKE THIS TO THOMPSON\'S\" underscoring a formalized doctor-pharmacist relationship common before the rise of chain drugstores. The prescription itself is handwritten in a clear, professional cursive, specifying \"Tab. Trit. Strophanthus Comp. IV\" with instructions to \"Disp. tabs no XXIV\" and a \"Sig.\" directing the patient to \"Take one tablet three times a day.\" The medication, a triturate tablet of strophanthus compound, was a cardiac glycoside preparation used for heart conditions, and its notation using Roman numerals and Latin abbreviations is characteristic of pharmaceutical compounding of the era. The document bears a state-level registry number, Reg. No. 3943, and shows typical signs of archival handling, including a pharmacy filing number (128025) inscribed at the top, two small circular pin marks, a central horizontal fold, and a torn corner, with the paper exhibiting the expected toning and foxing for its age. As a piece of medical ephemera, this script provides direct insight into therapeutic protocols, professional networks, and the material culture of healthcare in a small New England community during the final year of World War I.

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