Editing Gaper (section)

== Use ==
The gaper in the late 16th-century functioned as a hangout out sign on the street. Not only did the figurehead communicate information about the origin of the medicines, but it was also a tool for luring in customers. In this period there were no house numbers. The gaper served as a hangout known as a recognizable point for business. Pharmacies often decorated their storefronts with 'rarities' to invoke customer curiosities. Exotic items such as a stuffed crocodile or [[tortoise]], [[ostrich]] eggs, [[Antler|deer antlers]], [[narwhal]] teeth, [[sawfish]] teeth, [[elk]] legs, and [[Peafowl|peacock feathers]] were popular decorations.<ref name=":2" /> Some say that the gaper was used to taunt non-buying [[wikt:bystander|bystanders]] in the street. The gaper could have also served as a mirror image of the drugstore's pharmacist. Historical images show that the cap with a hanging point and tassel, similar to some hats depicted on gapers, was regularly worn by the 16th-century pharmacists.<ref name=":2" />

=== Saturated market ===
Beginning in 1840, the demand for medicine quickly became unbalanced. This caused many drugstores to close, taking the gaper figureheads with them. The Act on the Exercise of Medicine in 1865 declared that the pharmacy had to be separate from the drugstore. Pharmacists were required to have a diploma, if not, then they were no longer considered a chemist. This caused the drug stores to change their appearance. The pharmacy displayed the [[Mortar and pestle|mortar]] as a symbol for the ability to prepare medicines, while the druggists continued to use the gaper as a symbol. This caused a large decline in the numbers of gapers left in the cities.<ref name=":2" />