Stories of Medics and Medicine in the Royal Collection
The Royal Collection contains fascinating objects and paintings that illustrate the changing perception and use of medicine over time
Medicine chest
1922-23RCIN 230372
This is a medicine chest in miniature made for Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House, the largest and most famous dolls’ house in the world, designed and built by Sir Edwin Lutyens between 1921 and 1924 for Queen Mary and today on permanent display at Windsor Castle. The box is less than a centimetre high and only 1.5 cm wide. It has 12 compartments, each with a glass bottle of medicines and cork stoppers. Some of the bottles even contain tiny tablets. The maker, Burroughs, Wellcome and Co., were suppliers of medicine chests to explorers, expeditions and to royalty.