Alembics & Alchemists

I've been doing some more of my hysterical tinkering with the AD&D rules (treating 2e as an extensive revision of 1e, which is basically what it is in practice). A sticking point comes up with me where the wizard classes are concerned; there's some desire to have a third one, besides mages and illusionists. One of my favorite ideas I've been chewing over is the alchemist.

I know that Pathfinder (especially the new second edition) has alchemists as a core class, but Pathfinder's high-magic assumptions don't fit well with AD&D for the most part. As an exercise in elf indulgence, I'll just put some relevant slabs of text here. The first is from the 1e Dungeon Masters Guide:

Alchemist: This profession handles the compounding of magical substances, and the advantages of employing an alchemist are detailed under the section FABRICATION OF MAGIC ITEMS, Potions. Alchemists will only be found in cities unless you specifically locate one elsewhere. It will require an offer of 10 to 100 gold pieces bonus money, plus a well-stocked laboratory, plus the assurance of not less than a full year of employment, to attract one to service. 

[p. 29]

Turning to that section reveals this information buried in a bit of Gygaxian prose:

Potions may be made by any magic-user of 7th level or above, if he or she enlists the aid of an alchemist (q.v.). At levels above the 1lth, such assistance is no longer mandatory, although it will reduce the amount of money and time the player character must spend making the potion by 50% of the compounding/infusing time normally required, as the alchemist will be so employed instead. 

[...] In addition, upkeep of the laboratory requires a further monthly outlay of 10% of the total cost of the place, exclusive of any special provisions or protections, in order to stock basic fuel and supplies, replace broken equipment, and so on when the laboratory is in use. (Note: The place is always in use if the player character has an alchemist in his or her employ, for the alchemist will continually putter and experiment, always to no particular end, when not engaged in specific work for the magic-user.) 

[p. 116]

Now for the typical economy of words displayed by Cook and Marsh in the 1981 Expert Rulebook:

Alchemist (1000 gp/month). If given the formula or a sample, an alchemist may make a potion at half the normal time and cost. They may also conduct research into different types of potions at twice the cost and time required for a magic-user. 

[p. X21]

As much as I'd like to have alchemists as a player character class (and as much potentially-useful information as the 2e Skills & Powers book gives me on just that subject), everything I've read so far points to alchemy being most useful as a particularly rare, specialized secondary skill or profession. Which makes sense; in a setting where a public electrical grid doesn't exist, an alchemist would have to be constantly monitoring their laboratories to ensure that - for example - a fire didn't go out, or inadvertently scorch the material it's supposed to be gently heating. Of course they have to sleep sometime, which is where either the magic-user themselves or an alchemist's assistant would come in.

My current thoughts can be summarized as follows: alchemy might work as an especially rare secondary skill, but it's not a class in and of itself. Nor does one necessarily have to be a wizard to practice lab alchemy, although having spells like Affect Normal Fires would certainly come in handy!