19.1 The Ekelin Incident
After half a year in Köping, Scheele faced a serious problem. An apothecary named
Peter Ekelin turned up in Köping and offered to rent the pharmacy. Mrs Pohl
accepted the offer, and decided not to extend Scheele’s contract. On December 22,
Scheele wrote to Gahn:
I am rather melancholic, as it seems I will not make my luck here. An apothecary from
Landskrona, who ate with us at the table in the evening, has negotiated about the pharmacy
with rådman Sonneman (the father of the widow). He has agreed with him and he will take
over the pharmacy on July 22, more precisely as leaseholder. He refers to his money, and
that has helped him. The whole contract was set up without mentioning a word to me. Oh,
falseness! Should one necessarily have money to get his bread in this world?
Scheele rarely mentioned his private life in his letters to his colleagues, but he
returned to the Ekelin incident in several letters, and it is clear that it made him very
disappointed and unhappy.
Ekelin’s life appears to have been surrounded by conflicts and trouble [3]. He
was a pupil at the Split Eagle in Malmö from 1760, becoming apprentice in 1763.
As Scheele apparently did not know him, he must have left before 1765. In 1769, he
ran the Lion pharmacy in Landskrona in southern Sweden while the owner,
Kollberg, was on leave. In 1771, Kollberg ran into financial problems and had to
sell the pharmacy. Ekelin placed a bid, but since he had no exam and had only
managed to pay 2,000 of the 6,500 silver dealers he was supposed to pay for the
pharmacy, the bid was ultimately rejected. The following year, Ekelin returned with
the exam and the remaining money. Soon, however, Ekelin went bankrupt and the
pharmacy was sold on auction. Both Kollberg and Ekelin placed bids and after
some complications, Ekelin could run it until 1775, when it was finally sold to
merchant Eric Giörloff on the behalf of apothecary Peter Sjöqvist, who had been
employed at the Split Eagle just like Ekelin and Scheele had been.
The response to the Ekelin incident clearly shows what an impression Scheele
must have made on his friends, and what a great reputation he must have had after
publishing only three papers. Bergman wrote to him in an undated letter:
I have in these days, with considerable worry, heard that You have been betrayed in
Köping. It hurts me deeply, and I hope I can be of any help on this occasion. Do You want
to take on a position in Chemia oeconomica, that will probably be established soon in
Alingsås? If You want to return to Uppsala while waiting for a suitable position, my home
will be open for You. Let me soon know Your decision, and be certain that it will be my
pleasure to do what is possible for your best.
Bergman and Scheele’s former employer Lokk wanted Scheele to return to
Uppsala, while Gahn wanted Scheele to move to Falun as his collaborator. Scheele
wrote to Gahn and declined, but promised to visit Gahn, which he never did. In a
letter from Bergius dated April, 17 1776, Scheele was offered the pharmacy in
Alingsås, which had been put to his disposal by Bergman’s merchant acquaintance
Patrick Alströmer. The offer had been conceived at a dinner held by court
apothecary Collin, where Bergius, Schultzenheim, Bäck, Wargentin and Linnæus
19.1 The Ekelin Incident
255
After half a year in Köping, Scheele faced a serious problem. An apothecary named
Peter Ekelin turned up in Köping and offered to rent the pharmacy. Mrs Pohl
accepted the offer, and decided not to extend Scheele’s contract. On December 22,
Scheele wrote to Gahn:
I am rather melancholic, as it seems I will not make my luck here. An apothecary from
Landskrona, who ate with us at the table in the evening, has negotiated about the pharmacy
with rådman Sonneman (the father of the widow). He has agreed with him and he will take
over the pharmacy on July 22, more precisely as leaseholder. He refers to his money, and
that has helped him. The whole contract was set up without mentioning a word to me. Oh,
falseness! Should one necessarily have money to get his bread in this world?
Scheele rarely mentioned his private life in his letters to his colleagues, but he
returned to the Ekelin incident in several letters, and it is clear that it made him very
disappointed and unhappy.
Ekelin’s life appears to have been surrounded by conflicts and trouble [3]. He
was a pupil at the Split Eagle in Malmö from 1760, becoming apprentice in 1763.
As Scheele apparently did not know him, he must have left before 1765. In 1769, he
ran the Lion pharmacy in Landskrona in southern Sweden while the owner,
Kollberg, was on leave. In 1771, Kollberg ran into financial problems and had to
sell the pharmacy. Ekelin placed a bid, but since he had no exam and had only
managed to pay 2,000 of the 6,500 silver dealers he was supposed to pay for the
pharmacy, the bid was ultimately rejected. The following year, Ekelin returned with
the exam and the remaining money. Soon, however, Ekelin went bankrupt and the
pharmacy was sold on auction. Both Kollberg and Ekelin placed bids and after
some complications, Ekelin could run it until 1775, when it was finally sold to
merchant Eric Giörloff on the behalf of apothecary Peter Sjöqvist, who had been
employed at the Split Eagle just like Ekelin and Scheele had been.
The response to the Ekelin incident clearly shows what an impression Scheele
must have made on his friends, and what a great reputation he must have had after
publishing only three papers. Bergman wrote to him in an undated letter:
I have in these days, with considerable worry, heard that You have been betrayed in
Köping. It hurts me deeply, and I hope I can be of any help on this occasion. Do You want
to take on a position in Chemia oeconomica, that will probably be established soon in
Alingsås? If You want to return to Uppsala while waiting for a suitable position, my home
will be open for You. Let me soon know Your decision, and be certain that it will be my
pleasure to do what is possible for your best.
Bergman and Scheele’s former employer Lokk wanted Scheele to return to
Uppsala, while Gahn wanted Scheele to move to Falun as his collaborator. Scheele
wrote to Gahn and declined, but promised to visit Gahn, which he never did. In a
letter from Bergius dated April, 17 1776, Scheele was offered the pharmacy in
Alingsås, which had been put to his disposal by Bergman’s merchant acquaintance
Patrick Alströmer. The offer had been conceived at a dinner held by court
apothecary Collin, where Bergius, Schultzenheim, Bäck, Wargentin and Linnæus
19.1 The Ekelin Incident
255