(Material researched & presented by Barbara Armstrong)

The 1867 Sands and McDougall’s Melbourne and Suburban Directory provides the first listing for Benjamin Button, who operated from a homœopathic pharmacy at 66 Cardigan Street Carlton. In the same edition of the directory, Benjamin Poulton and John Poulton were also listed as homœopathic chemists at the same address, and 66 Cardigan Street was listed as being Benjamin Poulton’s private residence. It appears that Mr Poulton was the manager of the business.

By the time that the following directory was produced, the Poulton’s had moved. For several years, the alphabetical directories continued to state that Mr Button ran a homœopathic pharmacy at 66 Cardigan Street, although the street listings do not mention his name.  Was there an error with the production of the directories? Should Mr Button’s name have been deleted when the Poulton’s moved?

© Barbara Armstrong