(Material researched & presented by Barbara Armstrong)
In May 1882 Mr John Henry Lithgow announced that he and the firm of L. Fairthorne & Son had entered into an arrangement with so that Lithgow & Co. took over their pharmacy on the corner of Charles and York Streets.
It was not until October 1883 that Lithgow and Co. commenced making and dispensing homœopathic medicines. This was the same month that Dr Benjafield's new Homœopathic Pharmacy opened in Launceston.
Lithgow announced that 'having had considerable experience of this branch of the profession while in Melbourne' he could 'guarantee the purity and quality of these medicines, and at Melbourne prices'.
These advertisements for his 'distinct and separate branch' for making and dispensing homœopathic medicines continued for just a few months before ceasing. This was possibly because of the overwhelming success of Benjafield's Homœopathic Pharmacy, which had its own medical practitioner, Dr Brown, available for consultations on site.
Lithgow & Co. continued in business, but at this stage it is not known if the firm continued to make and sell homœopathic medicines.
© Barbara Armstrong
www.historyofhomeopathy.au