Carboys in the Victorian pharmacy

At the start of Victoria's reign, the majority of shops had windows which were made up of panes of glass 12 by 16 inches in size. They were normally used as extensions of storage shelving and held containers of the drugs which were sold or used in dispensing. Although these containers were often of poor quality, the labelling made many of them quite decorative, and the overall effect must have been attractive. They must also have been useful in identifying the type of shop to a population that was largely illiterate. It is 

thought that shortly before this time jars of water-white glass holding coloured liquids began to be displayed for this purpose. As time went on, large show carboys and elaborately decorated specie jars replaced the earlier crude glass containers. In the 1830s plate glass was introduced, and there was a gradual change from the old type of window to one composed of (usually) three large panes. This type of window lent itself to the display of products such as patent medicines and began to be used in this way to promote impulse buying. By 1900 larger sheets of plate glass were available, and many shop windows consisted of a single sheet, behind which were displayed the chemist's own remedies, patent medicines, toiletries and articles used in the sickroom. Surmounting this display were the carboys or spice jars which were now the acknowledged sign of the chemist and druggist.