Charles Michies Pharmacy, affectionately known as ‘Michies’, was founded by Charles Alexander Michie. Charles qualified as a pharmacist prior to World War I, having served his apprenticeship at A P Wallace, Victoria Road in Torry and studying at night school. After qualifying, Charles went to Glasgow and from there enlisted and served in the Medical Corps during the war. On return to Aberdeen, he set up business at 123 Crown Street and in 1935, he bought premises at 231 Union Street. In the years between 1940 and 1950, Charles added shops at 471 Union Street, 39 Justice Street, 57 Park Street and 23 King Street.

At the time of his death in 1963, Charles still had the establishments at Union Street and Park Street, the running of which was taken over by his sons John and Charles. Still young students at the time, they were only 23 and 21 respectively. John was studying accountancy and Charles originally aspired to be a veterinary surgeon.

Their father had not actually wanted either of his sons to go into pharmacy. He had seen first-hand during the war the distinction between pharmacists and doctors and felt that when the health service was established, pharmacists would be second-class within the medical profession. When he died however, John and Charles were faced with the decision whether to continue with the family business.

Someone had to produce income to support the family and the decision was made to carry on with pharmacy. The unexpected nature of having to make this decision so soon meant that at only 21 years old, Charles was running a pharmacy before he was actually a qualified pharmacist himself.

Having taken over the family business upon their father’s death in 1963, John and Charles were soon expanding. They opened a third pharmacy at 28 Powis Terrace, Aberdeen in 1968, followed closely in 1970 by one at 287 Rosemount Place, Aberdeen and another at 24 Market Square, Stonehaven. Their remit would eventually come to include seven pharmacies throughout Aberdeen City and Shire, including Laurencekirk, Inverbervie, Portlethen and Banchory. In 1982, the branch at 231 Union Street moved to the site of the old Chivas Whisky Headquarters at 391 Union Street.

Much of their success they credit to being in the right place at the right time. The pharmacy in Stonehaven was established as the result of a walk around the town one lunchtime! John was working on an accountancy job and had planned a visit to the outdoor pool. The weather was so bad however that he sought shelter in the nearby shops instead. Seeing that the current pharmacy was up for sale, a deal was done there and then and the next branch of Michies was acquired.

Most of the credit however is given to the staff who have played such a significant role in the growth of the business over the years. Pharmacy is by its very nature a caring profession, one where working hard to help people is the cornerstone commitment. These values are writ large across every department and branch of Michies, where members of staff continue to go above and beyond in providing the very best service to the communities they support.

The landscape of pharmacy has changed hugely since Charles Michie Snr opened his first shop in 1921. Pharmacies used to be known as the ‘chemist shop’, because of the role chemists traditionally played in preparing and dispensing medicines. In a world before the National Health Service, the chemist was a lifeline for many people who could not afford a doctor. The growth of urban areas during the Industrial Revolution meant that more and more chemist shops appeared on the high street. They didn’t just provide medicines but catered for the needs of an expanding population by selling food, candles, cosmetics, perfume, poisons, alcohol and even cigarettes!

The Union Street branch of Michies is one of the few outlets left that resembles the traditional chemist shop (minus the cigarettes and alcohol of course!), reflecting an enduring commitment to meeting the wider needs of their customers. This is true not only for the branches located in the city, but for the ones throughout Aberdeenshire as well, where pharmacies are critical hubs of support in remote places that might be isolated for various reasons.

The role of the pharmacist has expanded significantly over the past few decades to include more patient-facing responsibilities, including carrying out consultations and prescribing medication for more common clinical conditions. Care services provided by pharmacists can improve patient care by reducing costs and increasing accessibility. The personal touch is critical to patient-facing care – something which has remained a constant benchmark of Michies service for the last 100 years.

“I had initially been interested in becoming a veterinary surgeon, but after father died, someone had to produce the income to support the family. My brother John and I made the decision to continue the family business. It was very unusual, an unqualified pharmacist effectively running a pharmacy, albeit I had a pharmacist working for me. Even more so when you consider I was only 21. But having got one under our belts so to speak, we were in the market and ended up with 7. Which is about as many as one person can cope with!”

"Things have changed enormously. We used to make up prescriptions with mortar and pestle and nowadays the only time you see a mortar and pestle is on a cookery programme grinding spices! When I was a trainee pharmacist, we were shown how to make medicines, mixtures, powders, all sorts of things. A lady from Shetland used to write to us once a year with a recipe for making her own curry powder. This was before there would have been an Indian restaurant in Aberdeen and it contained at least half a dozen different herbs and spices. I used to make this thing up and it filled the entire shop with a smell that was completely new to all of us because we just didn’t eat curries at that time! Some of the herbs and spices were quite difficult to find and we had to source them for her - she probably didn’t realise the effort we had to go to!”

"We were absolutely the last generation of pharmacists to do that. As the next generations came through, we made up fewer and fewer medications and bought in more and more branded and generic products. The biggest change I have seen is the proportion of prescriptions that go to various age groups. It used to be that you went to a pharmacy because you had a problem of some sort - pain, constipation or something. Most of our customers now are on regular medication issued on a regular cycle. People are living longer, 100 years old is not the same novelty as it used to be”.

“We were enormously advantaged by being a family business. Our Mother/ Granny Michie was our linchpin. She lived to 103 and her principles and morals have always been at the fore. Charles and I had our first jobs working in the photo lab on Saturdays and then when we took over the business, the wider pharmacy community gave us so much support. They saw two young people running it and a lot of retired pharmacists volunteered their time and would come in to help. They came from the pharmacy breed of caring and knew they could help us understand the ground rules”.

“I think our growth was serendipitous - that’s our watch word. We have been about at the right time when the opportunity arose and we were well placed to act on it. Most importantly, our staff are unbelievably good. All the branches are run by experienced, caring people, who share the highs and lows of life with the customers. In our pharmacies in rural areas, the staff know virtually all the customers by name. It’s about the personal touch and the confidence people have in them".

"I said I would retire when I couldn't unlock the door downstairs. I have shrunk from 5ft 8 and a half, to 5ft 7 and a half, so I am heading towards retirement!"

Historic newspapers are an invaluable source material that give us an insight into contemporary social norms and values of the time. Adverts especially can tell us about current fashions, beauty and health concerns. Nowhere is this more apparent than with the myriad of Michies adverts in local newspapers over the years. They tell a story of a traditional chemist shop that resembled more closely a department store, where you could find everything from sunglasses to stationery, cosmetics to cards, and passport photos to perfume! The adverts reflect Michie's enduring approach to being at the heart of the communities they serve, both in terms of domestic items and healthcare support.

Charles Michie was part of the last generation of pharmacists to make preparations from scratch. Much like cooking, ingredients would be weighed, measured and ground using a pestle and mortar. The vast array of raw materials were kept in wooden drawers like these ones. Pharmacists would make creams, ointments, tablets, pills and even suppositories from scratch! The process was an art as much as a science, especially when using natural products such as herbs and roots. Unlike medicines which are standardised, ingredients such as rhubarb and liquorish root can vary in strength from one year to the next or from one farm to another. Getting the quantities just right required both experience and a keen sense of intuition.

But it wasn’t only pills and powders that you would find in a pharmacy. Many, including Charles Michies, made products that might surprise us now. These included furniture polish, candles, laundry detergent and even curry powder! Pharmacists had the raw materials and the knowledge to make these products up themselves. Beeswax for example was used to make furniture polish and could be made to a customer’s specific formula, depending on whether they wanted a creamy or waxy one.

The contents of each of our pharmacy drawers were researched and a number were selected to be able to be opened by the public. Where you see an (upcycled) empty plastic pill bottle hanging from the drawer, please open it and have a look! Inside you will find an information sheet about what ingredients would have been kept in there and what they would have been used for. We also have examples of some of the products themselves.

In a world before digital technology and online advertising, the pharmacy window display was one of the most important ways of advertising the business to customers. As glass production improved in the 18th and 19th centuries, larger panes of glass were able to be used in shop windows. This meant bigger, eye catching objects could be used for display, including carboys and specie jars.

Carboys are large glass objects which symbolise the smaller containers used in traditional pharmacy. They are an iconic symbol of pharmacy and would have been filled with different coloured water. These days, they are filled with water which has been dyed with food colouring as many of the traditional contents would now be extremely hazardous to display.

Michies have some beautiful examples of carboys in their collection, some of which were already filled with coloured water and on display in the windows of some of the branches, others which were empty and brought out of storage to be filled with coloured water as part of the project. One particular lid proved difficult to remove - just one of the many challenges working with ornate and often fragile objects .

Pharmacists are a caring and accountable group of people in the public domain who have a responsibility to uphold customer confidence in their profession. Historically, one of the ways in which pharmacies were able to do this was through their shop window displays.

Large decorative specie jars advertised to customers the types of contents available in the shop. These jars were often hand painted with elaborate patterns or coats of arms. At a time when it was common for drugs or herbs to be tampered with, specie jars were a way to boldly advertise a commitment to only the best and purest ingredients.

Michies has a remarkable collection of specie jars in their collection, with striking examples of coats of arms, unicorns and imagery from classical antiquity. All of them, except one, have their corresponding lids as well, which is pretty good going! Though Charles Michie is adamant he will find that lid for the missing one!

Eye, eye, what’s this doing here?

You might be wondering what a collection of lenses is doing in a pharmacy?

Early pharmacists often took on multiple roles, including that of ophthalmologist, or ‘eye doctor’ as they were sometimes known. There was less specialisation of services historically and a single practitioner would often provide a range of health care services. The pharmacist, with a detailed knowledge of preparing and dispensing medications, already had a scientific understanding that lent itself to treating other conditions, such as eye care. This was all the more important in more isolated areas where rural communities might struggle to access more specialist care.

This cabinet is in excellent condition and contains a myriad of lenses that would have likely been used by Charles Michie Snr in his role as both ophthalmologist and pharmacist.

Historically, pharmacists were allowed to sell poisons because they were trusted professionals responsible for preparing and dispensing medicines. The 1868 Pharmacy Act restricted the sale of poisons to qualified pharmacists and required proper labelling and record keeping of dangerous drugs. All poisons, such as strychnine and potassium cyanide, had to be entered in a Poison Register. The register was a record of information including the date of sale, the name and address of the purchaser, quantity of poison and the purpose for which it was required. Poisons were only sold to people who were known to the pharmacist. If they weren’t, someone else of good standing in the community, such as a police officer or member of the clergy, would need to vouch for them. The name and address of the seller also needed to appear on every container. The Michies Poison Register on display covers a period of 40 years, with the first entry dating from 1960.

There were also strict rules about the storage of poisons. Distinct symbols or labels were used to identify dangerous substances, such as the skull and crossbones or the word POISON in red letters. Poisons were often stored in different coloured bottles such as cobalt blue or green, or in bottles with unique ridges or shapes that made them easily identifiable to the touch. They were kept in separate cupboards or shelves from the rest of the stock in the pharmacy. These measures all acted to limit against the potential harm that poisons might cause to pharmacist and patient alike. In our cabinet you will find poisons such as Belladonna and examples of poison labelling on bottles containing Codeine.

In Victorian times, it was commonplace to see cabinets in people's homes packed full of all sorts of curious and strange things. These collections were referred to as 'cabinets of curiosity'.

In our cabinet, you will find all manner of objects related to pharmacy collected by Michies over the last 100 years. From lotions, potions and powders, to traditional pill rounders and cutters, some might be familiar and bring back memories of your own, others you might have to guess at!

• Have you ever heard of a Zepto Pencil?
• Wondering what Slippery Elm Powder is?
• Need to stock up on your Gentian Violet?

Come have a guess! Especially at what the red powder might be in the bottle that's lost its label!

Charles Michie himself had a lot of fun looking out objects for the cabinet and asking people to try and guess what they were! His knowledge and expertise is unsurpassed, so he was well placed to test others! Some of the objects, such as the pill rounder, belonged to Charles himself. It was a tool in his arsenal at a time when pharmacists used to make preparations from scratch. Sometimes people would ask to have gold leaf rolled into their pills, for no other reason than to advertise how wealthy they were!

We invited local textile artist Heidi Richardson to reflect on the objects on display as inspiration for producing original artwork of her own to be included in the exhibition.

Her work now hangs on the wall, as if it were drying in a studio. This was deliberately designed to reflect the work as almost finished, in the sense that the space is also unfinished. This is because we want visitors to finish the wall for us with their own artwork, inspired by what they have seen in the exhibition.

Whether you are a seasoned professional or have never picked up a pencil before, please use the sketch books and pencils provided to share something.

One of the biggest joys to emerge from this project is the stories that people have shared about their experiences of Michies, whether as a customer or staff member. The stories are many and diverse, reflecting the status of Michies as an instiution in and of itself.

Pictured here is Margaret Rennie Low at the Rosemount branch where she worked as a pharmacy dispenser. It was her first job after leaving Ruthrieston school in 1946 when she was just 15 years old. Her son, Brian, still works for Michies as a porter.

This legacy of generations of families working at Michies is not an unusual one. Much of it is testimony to how long people choose to stay and work here. One of the pharmacists at our Union Street branch has worked for Michies for over 30 years, something which is not uncommon across all departments.

Perhaps one of the reasons for the longevity of Michies staff is the opportunity for career progression and the ability to work their way up. Many of the staff started their journey working in the gift shop or cafe on Saturdays.

Fiona for example has been with the company for almost 29 years, starting in the coffee shop, then the gift shop, before becoming Clinic Administrator.

Recently Fiona came across an entry from her Primary 4 'News Book' from 1985. It details a visit to the Michies Cafe for lunch with her parents - even noting what each person had to eat! Fiona was clearly always destined from a young age to be part of the team at Charles Michies!

As this project has progressed, people have shared all sorts of personal memories of their experiences of Michies. Many of them are poignant childhood memories of special moments with loved ones. Whether sharing a 'funcy piece' with a friend or a bowl of soup with Grandad, choosing a scone with Granny or brushing your hair frantically as you get ready to have your passport photo taken!

We would love to keep hearing your memories, so please either share them by adding them to the Michies Memories pinboard in the cafe, or email us at info@charlesmichie.co.uk