The earliest roots of pharmacy education lie in the apprenticeship system. This system combined practical experience in pharmaceutical work with an introduction to its literature. A typical example is that of fifteen-year-old Julius Axt, who was apprenticed to George H. Schafer and Company of Fort Madison, Iowa, in 1873. Axt's contract ran for five years and specified his salary during this time: nothing during the first year, then a year-by-year increase to $225 in his fifth year.

56. Pharmacognosy lecture room, c. 1910, courtesy of the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy

As knowledge expanded and measurement and manufacturing techniques became more refined, the need for formal pharmaceutical education grew. The first Iowa school of pharmacy was the Iowa College of Pharmacy in Des Moines, which was associated with Drake University for most of its short life (1882-1906). In 1900, the Keokuk College of Pharmacy opened, but it lasted only until 1909. The current Drake University College of Pharmacy opened in 1939.

57. Pharmaceutical laboratory, 1938-9, courtesy of the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy

58. Women in Pharmacy, 1939-40, courtesy of the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy