Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Parke, Davis Research Laboratory Records

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.0001
Creators:
Parke, Davis Company
Dates:
1866-1992
Languages:
Collection is in
English
. Some materials in
Danish
,
German
,
Norwegian
,
Russian
, and
Spanish
.
Physical Description:
365 Cubic feet
510 boxes, 43 map folders
Repository:
The collection documents Parke, Davis and Company, one of the largest and oldest pharmaceutical firms in America.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The collection documents Parke, Davis and Company, one of America's oldest and largest drug makers. Parke, Davis had the first research laboratory in the American pharmaceutical industry. The company played a major role in the development of some of the principle new drugs of the twentieth century and pioneered the field of drug standardization. They were one of the first American firms to produce antitoxins, hormones, and other biologicals. They introduced new and important drugs such as adrenalin, dilantin, chlorenpleniol, and other antibiotics. They also did important research on vitamins, disinfectants, and pencillin.
The collection contains complete documentaion of all the research activities done, including research laboratory notes, correspondence, and published papers. The collection also contains corporate, financial, advertising and sales materials, photographs, and audiovisual materials. The collection is important for those researchers interested in the history of public health, the history of biologicals, pharmaceutical manufacturing and business history.

Arrangement

Arrangement
Collection is divided into 13 series.
Series 1: Corporate Materials, 1887-1951
Series 2: Financial Materials, 1880-1970
Series 3: Employee/Personnel Materials, 1900-1989
Series 4: Advertising/Sales Materials, 1868-1980
Series 5: Photographs, 1866-1992
Series 6: Notebooks, 1908-1968
Series 7: Control Department Records, 1884-1931
Series 8: Formulas, 1882-1967
Series 9: Equipment Data Files, 1922-1978
Series 10: Publications, 1968-1988
Series 11: Research Materials, 1920-1978
Series 12: Drawings, 1911-1971
Series 13: Addenda, 1867-1970
Series 14: Audio Materials, 1956-1957

Historical

Historical
Parke, Davis and Company traces it's origins to Samuel Pearce Duffield (1833-1916), a physician and pharmacist. Duffield was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and his family moved to Detroit when he was an infant. Duffield graduated from the University of Michigan in 1854 and he attended medical school at the University of Pennsylvania, latter leaving for Germany where he studied chemistry and sought treatment for his eyesight. He subsequently earned a Doctor of Philosophy from Ludwig University at Giessen in Germany. Duffield returned to Detroit in 1858 and established a retail drugstore with a strong interest in manufacturing pharmaceuticals. Duffield sought financial partners for his retail and manufacturing venture with A.L. Patrick and Francis C. Conant. Both men retracted their investments and Duffield met Hervey Coke Parke (1927-1899), a native of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Duffield and Parke formed a formal partnership in 1866. George S. Davis, a third partner and traveling salesman previously with Farrand, Sheley and Company, was added 1867. Augustus F. Jennings joined the company as a partner to head manufacturing. The company became known as Duffield, Parke, Davis, & Jennings Company. Duffield withdrew in 1869 and the name Parke, Davis & Company was adopted in 1871. The company incorporated in 1875 and began planning world-wide scientific expeditions to discover new vegetable drugs such as Guarana, Bearsfoot, Eucalyptus Globulus, and Coca. The company first showed a profit in 1876, and the first dividend paid to shareholders in 1878 and dividends paid until mid-1960s. Research was a major activity of the company.
In 1907, Parke, Davis and Company bought 340 acres in northeast Avon Township, Michigan, and called it Parkedale Farm. The farm was dedicated on October 8, 1908, and included sterilization rooms and a vaccine propagating building. By 1909 the farm included 200 horses, 25 to 50 cattle, 150 sheep, and employed 20 men. The horses produced the antitoxin for diphtheria and tetanus, the cattle produced a vaccine for smallpox preventatives, and the sheep made serum. Only the healthiest animals were used and all were well cared for. Exotic plants were also grown on the site and used for drugs. Parke-Davis' chief products were antitoxins and vaccines as well as farm crops for feeding the animals. The farm continued to produce vaccines for diphtheria, scarlet fever, tetanus, smallpox, anthrax, and in the 1950s, the Salk polio vaccine.
Due to a weakening financial position, the company became susceptible to take-over, and was purchased by Warner-Lambert in 1970. Warner Lambert, was then acquired by Pfizer in 2000. In 2007, Pfizer closed its research facilities in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Source
Rochester Hills Museum at Voon Hoosen Farm (last accessed on September 29, 2021 https://www.rochesterhills.org/Museum/LocalHistory/ParkeDavisFarm.pdf)
Parke, Davis and Company.
Parke-Davis At 100...progress in the past...promise for the future.
Detroit, Michigan, 1966.

Administration

Author
Robert Harding and Alison Oswald
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The initial collection of approximately 185 cubic feet was donated by the Warner-Lambert Company, through Jerry A. Weisbach, Vice-President and President of the Pharmaceutical Research Division, on February 3, 1982.
Processing Information
The original acquisition in 1982 was processed by Robert S. Harding, archivist, 1983. Subsequent accruals were processed by Alison Oswald, archivist, between 2019-2021. Substantial portions of the records were reorganized between 2019-2021 into a more coherent arrangement, and new series were created to bring similar material together.
The original arrangement and folder titles were retained in most cases.
Custodial History
The intital donation in February 1982 was transferred to the Archives Center from the Division of Medicine and Science in December 1982.
Accruals
Approximately 100 c.f. of materials documenting business records, photographs, historical materials, publications, and research materials, was donated by Pfizer Global Research and Development, through Deborah Salerno, 2006.
Approximately .15 cubic feet of archival material (portfolio of prints) illustrating the history of pharmacology published by Parke, Davis was transferred from the Archives of American Art to the Archives Center on September 24, 2014.
Separated Materials
Division of Medicine and Science, National Museum of American History
The division holds objects related to Parke, Davis that primarily include containers (boxes and glass bottles) that held phamrmaceuticals, biologicals (vaccines), crude drugs, and herb packages. See accessions: 1978.0882; 1982.0043; 1982.0043; 1984.0351; 1985.0475; 1988.3152; 1991.0415; 1992.3127; 2001.3066; 2012.0165; and 2018.5001.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Preferred Citation
Parke, Davis Research Laboratory Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Conditions Governing Use
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

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Materials at the Smithsonian Institution Libraries
Smithsonian Libraries Trade Literature Collection
Trade catalogs related to Parke, Davis & Co.; Warner-Lambert; Pfizer Pharmaceuticals; and Pfizer, Inc.
Materials at Other Organizations
Detroit Public Library, Special Collections
Parke, Davis & Company records, 1892-1959
Scrapbook of clippings, 1929-44; Excursions & Announcements, 1892-1902; and company newsletters.
University of California San Francisco
Drug Industry Documents was created by the University of California San Francisco Library in collaboration with faculty members C. Seth Landefeld, MD and Michael Steinman, MD. Originally established to house documents from an off-label marketing lawsuit against Parke-Davis (
United States of America ex rel. David Franklin vs. Parke-Davis
), the archive has grown to include documents from additional sources illustrating how the pharmaceutical industry, academic journals and institutions, continuing medical education organizations and regulatory/funding agencies operate in ways that are detrimental to public health.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
advertising Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Annual reports -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Antibiotics Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Architectural Blueprints Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Biologicals Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Blueprints -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Brochures -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Catalogs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chemistry Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Correspondence -- 19th-20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Diseases Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Drugs -- 1900-1950 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Drug factories Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Employee records Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Formulae, chemical Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Influenza Epidemic, 1918-1919 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Laboratories Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lantern slides -- 1900-1950 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Medical scientists -- 1900-1950 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Newsletters -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Newspaper clippings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Notebooks -- 1900-1950 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Patents Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pharmaceutical industry -- 1900-1950 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pharmacology -- 1900-1950 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Price lists Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
16mm films Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings -- Audiotapes -- Open reel Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tracings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Trade literature Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Vaccines Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Medical Sciences Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Duffield, Samuel P., Dr. (physician, pharmacist) Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Davis, George S. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Parke, Hervey Coke , 1827-1899 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pfizer Inc. Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis. Pharmaceutical Research Division Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
Business Number: Phone: 202-633-3270
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