Editor’s Introduction

Welcome back to the History of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuticals. This issue, the second published in partnership with the University of Wisconsin Press, focuses on the colonial histories of plant-based pharmaceuticals. It is a special issue (with a special cover), and I am so grateful to Jaipreet Virdi and Geoff Bil for their intellectual leadership and labor. They spent many, many hours of their time in service of the journal, and it is difficult to express how valuable this is to mid-sized academic organizations and non-profit groups such as the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy (AIHP). The articles in this issue, which span centuries and stretch across the globe, mark a significant intervention in histories of pharmacy, pharmaceuticals, and medicines.

I also want to acknowledge some transitions at the journal. The editorial team continues to undergo change, and it is bittersweet that two book review editors, Hilary Ingram (Durham) and Amelie Bonney (Oxford), will be leaving the journal after more than two years of involvement. As they depart, let me welcome James Bradford (Berklee College of Music), who will join the journal as a review editor.

Lastly, we bid a fond farewell to the journal’s longtime Senior Editor and later Managing Editor, Greg Bond. This is the final issue that he contributed to. During my time at AIHP as Historical Director and the Editor-in-Chief of the Institute’s journal, Greg has been an absolute force, enabling the publication of high-quality scholarship and helping usher in a new, university-press affiliated era. He was crucial in the redesign of HoPP over 2020–2021. Without doubt, countless authors and readers have benefited from his keen insights and sharp editorial eyes over the years. We wish to thank Greg for his two decades of work at AIHP and recognize that he will be greatly missed.