The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-11-27 00:00:00

LIVERPOOL APOTHECARIES' COMPANY.

At length the magnificent building of this company is
thrown open to the public. Before making any remarks on
the building itself, we shall say a few words respecting the
advantages which will accrue to the Liverpool:public from
such an establishment.

There is no complaint more general among medical men
than that of the inefficac) of many of their prescriptions, in
consequence of the deteriorated nature of the medicines that
are kept in many of the smaller druggists shops; and this is
a necessary conseqence of want of analytic skill, in the first
instance, when purchasing drugs, and of the injury that many
of the finer medicines are subjected to by the action of the
atmosphere, and of light, which in some cases totally destroys
their medicinal properties. The remedy that obviously sug-
gests itself is a manufactory on the spot, and a demand
large enough to insure a speedy consumption of all drugs on
hand. Again, to the smaller druggists this establishment
oilers advantages, which no doubt many will avail themselves
of, as we understand medicines may be purchased wholesale
on as advantageous terms to the retail vender as at the
Apothecaries' Hall, London. There is, a well fitted up
laboratory on the premises; at the head of this department
is Mr. Brett, of London, who has been appointed analytical
chemist to the company. In cases of poisoning, in mining
speculations, and in all cases where minute and accurate
analysis is necessary for arriving at judicial truth or com-
mercial accuracy, the value of an analytic chemist who can
be depended on is sufficiently obvious, and in this branch of
the science this gentleman stands high. To the practical, as
also the amateur chemist, this establishment offers advan-
tages hitherto not to be obtained out of the metropolis. That
class of articles usually termed "chemicals" could only be
obtained in London in all their variety, and.even there, in
but few shops; and as the study of chemistry is daily becom-
ing more general, by no class of persons will- the advantage
of such an establishment be more felt than this.
The merits of the building itself, architecturally, have been
much canvassed, pro and con. An architect has generally a
most difficult part to perform, especially should his employ-
ers be a company, and, inure than all, when he is obliged to
blend ornament with commercial capability. •Noveltv, is, of
eourse, the order of the day; and, with many; the abilities of
an architect are estimated by his capability of ringing the
changes on the Greek or Roman orders. The absurdity of
this is daily becoming inure manifest. We have all sorts of
incongruity palmed on the public, from the morbid desire to
have something " out of the common," and, at the same
time, a slavish hankering after columns, with caps and bases,
Roman cornices, Greek pediments, &C. &c., just as if the
elements of ancient temple architecture were as convertible
as so many letters of an alphabet. However beautiful the
details of the classic models are, they are only so in relation
to something else; out of place, and they are sheer absurdity.
We hold it as an architectural impossibility to blend judi-
ciously the classic orders with the wants of a commercial
community and the destructive effects of our humid climate.
The architect that would invent a commercial or domestic
order of architecture—one that would be susceptible of more
or less ornament, just as circumstances might require, would
deserve well of his country. Vast sums are expended, an-
nually, on cumbrous ornaments that have no earthly meaning
or reference to adaptation for the uses or conveniences of the
building.
There is only a section of the present building that has any
claims to architectural criticism—as far, at least, as decora-
tion is concerned—this is the portion of the building in which
the retail shop is situated. To this, as a whole, the architects,
Messrs. Cunningham and Hohne, have at least succeeded in
imparting novelty of design, and, even in the details,
_ have
not servilely followed what has been done before. To our
own thinking, these are, by far, too heavy; yet, if the build-
ing stood alone, and could be viewed from a greater distance
than is possible at present, the general ,ffect would be con-
siderably lightened. But it is in the interior of the lower
portion of the building that the decorative talents of the
architects have been principally displayed.
We have seen most of the splendidly decorated shops in
the metropolis, but this by far outdoes anything she can boast
of. The ceiling is a mass of beautifully executed ornament,
the prominences of which are most beautifully etched up with
gold. It is divided into three compartments, each having a
separate cornice running clearly round; these again are each
subdivided into pannels, surmounted by elaborate enrich-
ments, in the centre of which are elegantly designed pateras,
of a variety of forms ; from the centre of sonic of them
chandeliers are suspended. A foliage and scroll ornament
runs round the frieze, which for relief equals any thing of the
kind we have seen; the whole is supported by composite co-
lumns, most exquisitely executed, bearing a most harmonious
proportion to the ceiling they are intended to support. In a
semicircular space at the end of the shop stands a fountain of
white marble, surmounted by an elegant vase-formed basin,
in the midst of which a group of dolphins are entwined ;
round the sides are compartments from which soda water,
lemonade, &c., are intended to be drawn. The coup d'ail of
this part of the building possesies a magnificence both of
extent and material, quite unapproached by any other edifice,
public or private, in Liverpool; and, when the vacant panels
in the walls are filled by large mirrors, the now somewhat
naked outline of windows broken harmoniously by splendid
coloured vases, the entrance relieved by sphinxes, and the
pedestals in front surmounted by appropriate lamps, the
whole will form a combination of unrivalled effect.

As we hare before observed, we are fully aware of the
difficulty the architect has to contend with when he is called
on to blend commercial fitness with elaborate ornament, and
when we look at all—counters, desks, nests of drawers, and
all the etceteras of a sale shop, in connection with the rest—
we must say that Messrs. Cunningham and Holme have
most successfully executed the difficult task that has been
allotted them.

The whole building was contracted for by Mr. Unsworth
of Lime-street. The joinery and cabinet work, fittings, &c.,
were executed by himself; the counters, and floors leading
into and from the shop being all composed of solid mahogany,
the panels of which are surrounded by massive mouldings and
elaborate carving. We have had an opportunity of examin-
ing these most minutely, and finer pieces of joinery we have
never seen; all seems mathematically true; not a mitre dis-
torted; the massive doors swing with apparent ease on their
hinges, and, when closed, are almost air tight. From a
cursory examination of other parts of the building, all appears
to be equal to this; and when we look at the extent of the
work, and take into consideration the active personal super-
intendance this must have required on the part of Mr. Uns-
worth, tie have uu doubt the public will award hint the credit
he so well merits.

Where all have executed their task well, it might be
deemed invidious to name one tradesman in connection with
the building more than another; we therefore think it within
the line of our duty to name some of those who have been
entrusted with different branches of the work, and the more
especially since an idea prevails with many that nothing
highly ornamental can be executed out of the metropolis.
The stone and masonry were executed by Mr. Taply; we
shall leave our readers to judge how well this has been done
as they pass by the building. The interior ornaments in the
ceiling of the shop, and general plastering, were entrusted to
Mr. Burne, who has inure than exceeded his usual excellence,
especially in the boldness a relief of the ornaments. To
Mr. H. Willacy, of Berry-street, was given the painting,
interior decoration, gilding, and labelling the bottles, drawers,
&c. This gentleman has done his part most tastefully, the
gold enrichments of the ceiling blending in complete harmony
with the line of the ornament, the whole producing a most
pleasing effect. The plumliing and glazing of the whole
building was executed by Messrs. Crellin and Holt, and we
believe most satisfactorily.
This establishment includes machinery for carrying on a
business of the greatest magnitude in the most advantageous
manner. There are mills of various kinds, pestles and mor-
tars, &c. &c., worked by an engine, the waste steam from
which (it being of the high pressure construction) is econo-
mically applied to various useful purposes, as heating a
chamber for drying vegetables, &c., warming some portions
of the establishment, and furnishing a very large supply of
distilled water, which is most advantageously employed to
many purposes, for which it is better adapted than the-com-
mon water generally employed. We may notice' a useful
contrivance, called a hoist, which is, in fact, a chamber, in
a corner of the building, worked from the cellars to the
highest floor, by an expenditure of power of the engine of no
great amount, but which, on pulling a cord, is raised or
depressed whilst heavily loaded, furnishing a very ready
means of transferring goods from one story of the building to
another.

In conclusion, we view in this establishment a most im-
portant addition to our rapidly improving town, not only as
an object of decorative beauty, but as one of high utility to
the town at large; and let us hope the company will receive
that public support which their spirited undertaking so fairly
entitles them to.---Journal.