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MY LATEST ADDITION TO MY LOCAL STUFF ~ C.HEIMSTREET ~ IN PERFECT SHAPE AND A REAL LOOKER, ONE I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED AND FROM RIGHT DOWN THE ROAD IN TROY N.Y.   I WILL  PUT THE HAGAN IN MY COLLECTION AS SOON AS I CAN FIND ONE REASONABLE AND UNDAMAGED...ALL IN TIME. 

CHARLES HEIMSREET ~ TROY NEW YORK

Charles Heimstreet was listed as a Druggist in Troy New York from 1835 till 1855. His business was at 10 State Street. In 1845, the company was called Heimstreet & Bigelow (Edmond), Mfg Druggists. Starting in 1848, William E. Hagan began working with Heimstreet as a Clerk (see Hagan). The same year Bigelow was no longer listed. According to the Wilsons, Heimstreet's brother Stephen had joined him in 1838, and managed the bottled medicine line. The Wilsons also said that Heimstreet had died in 1855 and the company dissolved soon after. 
Heimstreet's Inimitable Hair Coloring

 Heimstreet, Thomas B., M.D., was born in Troy, March 11, 1843. His father, Dr. Charles Heimstreet, was for many years a druggist in Troy, being the first prescription druggist in the city; he died in 1854; he was married to Miss Harriet ]. VValsh of Lansingburgh, N.Y., in 1838; she died in 1876. Thomas B. received his education at the common and private schools, Albany Medical College, and graduated from Bellevue Hospital Medical College in March, 1867, when he began practice in Troy. He has been one of the attending physicians of the Troy Hospital, and is a member of the Rensselaer County Medical Society, the New York State Medical Association, and the American Ornithologists' Union. He was librarian of the Troy Young Men's Association for nine years. In 1871 he married Miss Mary E. Quinta] of Fall River, Mass. .



Edward Burton Heimstreet, druggist of Janesville, established business in this city in 1868. and has carried it on continuously since with marked success. His stock comprises a full line of drugs, patent medicines, paints, oils, glass and artists' materials, and in the last mentioned class of goods he does both a retail and wholesale business. His establishment is one of the largest and finest drug houses in the state.

Mr. Heimstreet is a native of New York, and was born in Lansingburg, Rensselaer county, on January 3, 1848. His father, Stephen Heimstreet, was born in New York, November 24, 1813, and was a well known druggist at Lansingburg. His mother, whose maiden name was Emeline Spicer, was born at Charlotte, Vt., and was descended from an old New England family, her father, the Rev. Tobins Spicer, being a prominent Methodist itinerant minister of New England. In January, 1867, his parents.became residents of Janesville, where they made their home until October, 1886, at which time they returned to the East on a visit. The death of the father occurred at Troy, N. Y., in January, 1887, at the age of seventy-four years. His mother died at Troy, N. Y., in October, 1901. Both were devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

The subject of this sketch received a liberal education, attending the Methodist Episcopal college at Poultney, Vt., and subsequently became a student at Jonesville academy at Jonesville, N. Y.; later at Meehanicsville academy. He then studied medicine under Dr. H. B. Whiton, of Troy, N. Y., for two years; also attended Albany Medical college.

He served in the latter years of the war as a private of Company F, of the Fourteenth Regiment, United States regulars, until August following the close of the war, when through the influence of his father, who had been trying to induce him to leave the service since he had entered it, he was honorably discharged.

Mr. Heimstreet was employed in his father's drug store from early boyhood, and became thoroughly instructed in the business. In 1867 he removed to Janesville, Wis., intending to perfect himself in the study of medicine, but finding an opportunity to buy a drug store at a good advantage, he did so and has carried on the business continuously since.

On January 14 1868, Mr. Heimstreet was married at Janesville to Miss Stella Howard, daughter of William H. Howard, then sheriff of Rock county. The lady was born at Shullsburg, Grant county, Wisconsin, where her parents were among the early settlers. Two children have been born of their union, Alice M., of Janesville, and Charles S., of Lake Mills, Wis., where he is engaged in the drug business.

Mr. Heimstreet has been identified with the leading interests of Rock county since becoming one of its residents. He was one of the foremost movers in securing the state pharmacy law, and worked long and faithfully to secure its passage. He is credited with being the founder of the pharmacy law, and Wisconsin Pharmaceutical Association, of which he was the secretary for twenty-one years, and also secretary of the State Board of Pharmacy, in which position he served for twenty years. He was secretary of the Janesville City hospital for many years; for three years was secretary of the Rock County Agricultural Society, and treasurer for several terms; for ten years served as secretary of the Janesville Horticultural Society; for thirty-three years held the office of secretary of the Janesville fire police, and five years was collector of the Janesville fire department. He is also past commander of the W. H. Sargent Post No. 20, G. A. R.; a charter member and past chancellor of Oriental Lodge No. 22, K. of P.; P. G. of Wisconsin Lodge No. 14,I. 0. 0. F., and sachem of the Order of Red Men. For many years has been president of the Humane Society and Associated Charities of Janesville.

Mrs. Heimstreet, a bright, active and highly intelligent woman, renders her husband valuable assistance in his business correspondence and in the clerical duties of the various society secretaryships which he holds, and without her cheerfully rendered services, it would be impossible for him to successfully discharge the various duties imposed upon him without neglecting his private business. Mr. Heimstreet is recognized as one of the wideawake, progressive business men of Janesville, public spirited, broad in his views, of unquestioned integrity and always up with the times, his interest and efforts in the cause of wholesome laws in regard to pharmacy, have won him distinction throughout the state.


Reminiscences of an Old-Time Apothecary.

Some Early Stores and Druggists in New York State, with a Side Mention of Soda.

By E. B. Heimstreet. When the first number of The Druggists Circular came to our store, I was just commencing to draw soda water. This was at Lansingburgh and Troy, N. Y., my father and uncle running the stores.

'A Lansingburgh Model.

The Lansingburgh store was a model for those days. I remember the glass in the front windows was 8 by 10 and we had heavy wooden shutters that were put on every night and taken off in the morning. The building was three stories high—the main floor, the second floor for surplus stock, and the third floor where the drug mill, mortars, etc., stayed. If the clerk of the present day could see us as we worked, powdering blood-root, ipecac, etc., he would see that he was fortunate indeed to be born a halfcentury later.

The first thing I learned to sell was Helmstreet's anise cough drops. We had a large drawer filled and sold them by the ounce or pound. The idea of putting them in boxes never entered our head.

Of glycerin we had a pound bottle, and once in a while sold an ounce or so.

Spreading a Plaster—a Lost Art?

A thing that interested me was a call for a plaster. First out came the split skin, and it was stretched over a block' and an iron frame put over it, then the plaster iron was heated in a lamp and the plaster warmed and spread on the kid (not the "kid" of the present day) or sheep skin. Then the frame was taken off and the plaster was delivered.

But the Soda—Ah-h-h, the Soda!

And our soda fountain! I think it was Matthews' make. On the counter was a silver dolphin with open mouth, from which the delicious drink flowed. In the cellar was the generating apparatus. First we put the sulphuric acid in a lead holder. This had a plunger and was mounted on a large tank like a churn. In this tank we put the marble dust and enough water to cover it well, and then bolted it down; then letting the acid in by degrees we obtained our gas. This was conveyed by a pipe to another tank filled with water and a large bell and the gas would bubble up through the water until the bell was filled. The gas tanks were of cast iron in two pieces. Every spring they were taken apart and cleaned, then heated hot over a bonfire and coated with beeswax, then

How many years young E. B. Heimstreet is need not be told here. Every reader is entitled to his own guess. But Mr. Heimstreet was old enough and big enough to be secretary of and one of the leading spirits In the old Rock

County Pharmaceutical Association, organized in 1879, out of which grew the Wisconsin Pharmaceutical Association the following year. Mr. Heimstreet wielded the stylus of the latter and larger organization from its inception to 1897, was its president in 1901-2, and again took up his old job of secretary in 1908, which he held until he retired last year, when the association presented him with a gold watch in appreciation of his long and active service. Mr. Heimstreet was a member of the board of pharmacy of his State from 1882 (the year the board was organized) to 1901, inclusive, and served the board faithfully as its secretary. He has at times been an officer or director in many druggists' commercial organizations, and was one of the prime movers in the attempt to establish a National Druggists' Home at Palmyra.

We had five syrups, lemon, vanilla, raspberry, strawberry and sarsaparilla, and pure cream was put In ail drinks. We had never thought of such a thing as ice cream in soda water then.

When Clerks Really Had to Identify Specimens.

Every other Saturday Mr. Heimstreet would take one or two of the apprentices (for we had genuine apprentices in those days) and go up the Hudson or Mohawk valley and collect plants, and the boys always wanted to go on these trips. We gathered gentian, ginseng, bloodroot, golden seal, etc. These were brought home and hung up in the third story, and when well dried were ground and powdered.

I remember Charlie Squires, who was then learning the drug business at our store, Troy, N. Y., and afterwards became head of the well-known firm of C. P. Squires & Co,, of Burlington, Iowa. Charlie worked well, but would persist in wearing a pleated-front white shirt at all times, and when he came back from some of those trips he was a sight. This work was a good thing for the boys, who are now old men, for in those days a drug clerk was able to tell most of the plants by their looks.

Hagan took over as the Proprietor of the establishment from 1851 to 1861. In an ad on Oct 1, 1859, W.E. Hagan, Troy, NY already Proprietor, indicates fifteen years of experience. The label on some of the C. Heimstreet bottles said they contained "W.E. Hagan's Hair Coloring." It is not known when Hagan made this label change. At some point Demas Barnes took over proprietorship of Hagan's articles, including this hair coloring. He advertised the Hair Coloring in 1862. An ad in the 1875 John F. Henry, Curran & Co. catalog (view), listed two sizes of the bottles. In the 1885 McKesson & Robbin's catalog, I found a listing that called the product "Hagan's or Heimstreet's Hair Dye." The last reference I found to the product was in the 1898 National Druggist.

William E Hagan was born Nov.24th 1826. His father a well known merchant from NYC.After finishing his education at Troy Academy he went under the employ of Charles Heimstreet a manufacturing chemist. Later completing studies in NYC and returning to Troy in 1854 a partner of his old employer, and on the death of Mr. Heimstreet succeeded to their drug business, which he finally sold to A. M. Knowlson. Mr. Hagan was one of a committee who designed the first successful steam fire engine in the United States—the well-known Arba Read, in 1859. In 1865 he opened an office in New York, and acted largely as an expert in mechanics and chemistry as applied to the arts. Having devoted much study to the subject of handwriting, his opinion as an expert has been often called for in court in many important cases of the kind in the United States. He has written many papers on scientific subjects, and is the author of the well-known work. " Hagan on Disputed Handwriting," published in 1894. He is a member of several social organizations, was formerly a member of the Troy Citizens' Corps, and is now and has been for ten years a member of the Troy Club. Mr. Hagan, besides being an expert in handwriting, is a wellknown patent lawyer, having an extensive practice in all parts of the country.  { Some text courtesy of -  http://www.hairraisingstories.com }

 It would amuse some of our progressive merchants of the present day to see the way we advertised these specialties. Here is a copy of an old advertisement taken from the Lansingburg Gazette, of June, 1851: S. HEIMSTREET Druggist & Apothecary; 239 State-street. 'A few doors below the Phoenix Hotel' Dealer in Drugs. Medicines, Paints, Oils, Chemicals, Articles of Diet

Considering the necessities of the invalid too sacred to be trifled with by the sale of Vitiated Medicines, his chief aim is to keep those only which are of the first quality, as well as pure and unadulterated.

Together with the above a large assortment of FANCY GOODS, French, English and American Perfumery, Toilet articles; Stewarts' Steam reflned Lozenges and confectionery. Rubin's extract, genuine, direct from the importer; Cologne Water, German, French and American, plain and a great variety of fancy styles; Superior fancy Soaps, and a great variety of cheap soaps.