Pharmacy BU Fund
The University Pharmacy Library keeps specialized and antique collections in its Reserve: these collections are available for anyone to consult.
The 4,900 works, offprints, images, and theses, come mainly from bequests or donations linked to the history of pharmacy education in Montpellier:
– Collection of the Montpellier School of Pharmacy. In 1886, the Montpellier School of Pharmacy bequeathed to the University Library a collection of works belonging to the School, as well as bequests made to the School by two professors, one by François-Joseph Rey (1758-1826) and the other in 1859 by François Hugues Roméo Pouzin (1795-1860). This beautiful collection of works fromthe 16thtothe 19thcentury, described as the library of the "honest man," is truly encyclopedic, covering medicine and chemistry, botany and zoology, pharmacy and toxicology, as well as literature, geography, and more.
The Reserve thus preserves more than 80 pharmacopoeias, the oldest of which dates from 1625, a fine collection of botanical works, including Michel Boym's prestigious Flora Sinensis (1656), and many works on chemistry and toxicology, illustrating their growing importance in the School's research. Alongside a fine collection of literary works, there are also offprints by Auguste Comte and his dedication to his "comrade and friend, Doctor Pouzin."
– Montpellier School of Agriculture Collection. The work ofJules-Emile Planchon(1823-1888), who was Director of the Higher School of Pharmacy in 1859 and worked with the Montpellier School of Agriculture, particularly on the phylloxera crisis, explains the presence here of this collection, which mainly dates fromthe 19thcentury. There are 639 documents, mainly on botany, which are very interesting for the history of viticulture in the Hérault and Aude departments.
– Jules Pavillard Collection. Complementing the collection held at the Hérault Departmental Archives, this collection of around 150 documents was donated to the Pharmacy Library by his granddaughter, Anne-Marie Pavillard.
Jules Pavillardspent his entire career in Montpellier and was director of the Institute of Botany in 1927. He was one of the promoters of phytosociology and founder of the International Station of Mediterranean Geobotany in 1930. The collection consists of a coherent set of articles and documents from his research, as well as handwritten notebooks.
– Theses. The library holds a collection of academic writings dating back to 1803, when Napoleon founded the École supérieure de Pharmacie (Higher School of Pharmacy): in particular, the theses of first-class pharmacists and higher degrees in pharmacy. For the period 1803-1806, we only have copies, as the originals are held at the BIUS (Paris). The period from 1806 to 1949 constitutes the old collection of pharmacy theses from Montpellier.
Photo credits: University of Montpellier / SCDI Montpellier – photography department