Scope and Contents Prescription book of William E. Shaffer, a Washington, D.C., pharmacist and friend of Paltridge, accompanied by a photograph of Paltridge on his 80th birthday in 1951. On the envelope enclosing the photo Paltridge explains that "many of the formulae in the book are prescriptions of prominent physicians of the late 1880's and early 1900's who practiced in Washington, D.C."