200                      NEW YORK'S LEADING INDUSTRIES.

    Dr. Irish's Old Botanic Depot and Pharmacy, A. Wynkoop, Proprietor, No. 5 Third Avenue, next door to corner Seventh Street.--No historical review of the business interests of New York would be complete without a suitable reference to Dr. Irish's famous Old Botanic Depot and Pharmacy, a veritable landmark in the history of the drug trade of the metropolis. The business was established no less than fifty-two years ago by the late Dr. Elwood Irish. The Doctor was a very active and enterprising business man, and introduced a degree of energy into the carrying on of his establishment that attracted public attention and a correspondingly large measure of patronage. About thirty-seven years ago he compounded his famous beverage known as Dr. Irish's Ottawa Beer, and which has thoroughly demonstrated itself through the long intervening period as one of the best effervescing, cooling, and agreeable non-intoxicating and healthful beverages ever devised. In 1879 Mr. A. Wynkoop became the proprietor of Dr. Irish's Pharmacy, and has permanently retained the old-time name and style. The establishment is most centrally and eligibly located at the beginning of Third Avenue, directly opposite the Cooper Institute. It is a fine store, handsomely fitted up, and contains a complete assortment of botanic extracts, drugs, chemicals, proprietary remedies of value, perfumery, toilet articles, mineral waters, etc., etc. The famous recipe for the Ottawa Beer still remains the property of this pharmacy, and is one of the features of the business. It is known all over the world, and no greater credit to old Dr. Irish could accrue than having his name linked with that of this delicious and healthful beverage. Dr. Wynkoop's establishment is now the oldest botanic store in the country, and still does, as it always has done in the past, a very large and permanent trade. Dr. Wynkoop is a native of Philadelphia, an accomplished pharmaceutical graduate, and brings both ample skill and long practical experience to bear in the discharge of his professional duties. He is a popular member of business circles, honorable in his dealings with all men, and well worthy of the continuous measure of success that attends the pharmacy of old Dr. Irish.

Source:

Edwards, Richard, and Critten [editors and proprietors], "Dr. Irish's Old Botanic Depot and Pharmacy," New York's Great Industries: Exchange and Commercial Review, Embracing Also Historical and Descriptive Sketch of the City, Its Leading Merchants and Manufacturers: With Numerous Illustrations, New York, Historical Publishing Co., 1885, p. 200.

    The "Mr. A. Wynkoop," "native of Philadelphia," is Dr. Alfred Wynkoop, civil war surgeon, family practitioner and pharmacist, who I've been researching since 1997. Fortunately for me, I'm not the only one with an avid interest in him.

    I'd like to thank my old friend Joe Check, JACHECK@aol.com, of Bay Shore, New York, for sending me a copy of this blurb from a source I would never have thought to check, a book on New York industries, merchants and manufacturers. Sometimes you can find slices of family history in the strangest places.

    Joe, thank you once again for your interest and help. I'm very grateful, as you know.

    Joe found this item by doing a search on the new Google Print service, a controversial attempt to make the world's books available to everyone with just the touch of a button. Now I happen to think this is a wonderful idea, but there are a great many detractors out there as well, most notably book publishers, who live and die by royalties. I can understand their point of view, but there are hundreds of thousands, (if not millions), of books which have fallen out of copyright, and worse yet are held by only a few libraries. Many, many of these deserve to be made more widely available to people like us, family history researchers, not to mention academics, authors, script writers, etc., etc. We live in the Information Age. It's time to stop hoarding it and let everyone have access. Being sparing with the truth may seem like a wonderful idea to many governments, (and I won't name names here, but I do see a truly disturbing trend in our own country), but in the end nothing good can come of it. Ignorance breeds intolerance, and intolerance leads to war. When people stop talking and exchanging ideas, relationships deteriorate and misunderstandings are the rule, not the exception. It's time to get the dialog started again. It's not too late.

    History shouldn't only be written by the winners. There's too much at stake.

    Chris