The pharmacist Jacob Bell (1810–59) spent much of his career working to raise the standards and reputation of his profession. A founder in 1841 of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, he sought to improve scientific education for practitioners as well as protect the profession through legislation. Although he served briefly in Parliament, Bell exerted his greatest influence through editing the Pharmaceutical Journal. An extended piece that he produced for the journal in 1842 forms the first part of the present work. He traces the development of pharmaceutical practice and legislation from the sixteenth century to the birth of the Pharmaceutical Society. At the behest of the society's council, Theophilus Redwood (1806–92) continued the narrative after Bell's death, concluding with the 1868 Pharmacy Act. Published in 1880, the book provides a thorough account of the gradual establishment of British pharmacy as a separate and respected profession.