Sujet

Opium-smoking in China - from drawings by a native artist, 1858. Creator: Unknown.

Légende

Opium-smoking in China - from drawings by a native artist, 1858. Fig 1. '...two partners in an opium firm superintending the operations of their workmen...Fig. 2. '...a man in the act of enjoying his pipe...The smoker reclines on a couch, his head supported on a pillow...the opium...acts at first as a pleasant and refreshing stimulant, and produces an artificial vigour, quickly, however, followed by great relaxation and listlessness. In order to produce the pleasurable effects, a constantly recurrent quantity of the drug is necessary. The habit, once formed, its evil effects do not lag behind. These are pains in the limbs and bowels, loss of appetite and memory, disturbed sleep, emaciation, horrible apprehensions and a general decay - moral and physical...At length that which was first resorted to for pleasure is sought only to relieve pain...Fig.3....our victim, having exhausted all his money, gratifies his ruinous indulgence by selling or pawning the contents of his clothes-chest...We cannot but regard it as a blot on the character of our East Indian Government that for purposes of revenue it should be engaged in cultivating and selling a drug which, invaluable as a medicinal agent, is so antagonistic to all who employ it as an indulgence'. From "Illustrated London News", 1858.

Crédit

Photo12/Heritage Images/The Print Collector

Notre référence

HRM23A82_324

Model release

NA

Property release

NA

Licence

Droits gérés

Format disponible

29,1Mo (1,6Mo) / 21,5cm x 33,9cm / 2537 x 4005 (300dpi)

Mots clés

female women woman people male job man men arts industry pipe country drug drugs China art Chinese trade guy occupation preparation British lying color empty industrial smoking addiction workmen workman location century Britain profession reclining preparing newspapers press print concept opium couch controversy B&W lying down addict addicts controversial preparations engraved engraving addicted drug addiction Colour drug addict 19th century drug trade black & white black and white B W refining recumbent white and black tobacco pipe drug addicts nineteenth century The Print Collector East India Company Illustrated London News opium pipe ILN opium den newspaper Unknown working man 19th-century