Fig. 1

Described as the ‘joy plant’ by Sumerians, the opium poppy (papaver somniferum) has been cultivated for centuries and is widely regarded as humanity’s first drug. Opium gets gradually introduced throughout the world: in Egypt, Greece, Persia, India, and China. As the poppy’s seeds are spread, so is its varying usage: dissolved in alcohol under the name laudanum, smoked through a pipe or taken as pills (Crandall 55). A “sleep-inducing alkaloid” from the opium poppy’s latex is isolated in the early 1800s and the resulting drug morphine is hailed as a medicinal wonder (57).

Throughout the decades, the highly addictive drug has managed to transform in the public’s eye from simple household remedy to a dangerous drug needing to be prohibited (Aurin 415f). The invention of the hypodermic needle in the 1840s made narcotic use even more dangerous and seductive for users (Hickman 1276, 1278f).

Fig. 3.1

Smoking opium is a complex process that is explained thoroughly in an 1881 article by physician H.H. Kane in Harper’s Weekly. The doctor describes the process of preparing the pipe, the varying quality of opium and accessories, and the process of smoking in detail:

“Having the necessary articles and opium brought to him by the keeper of the joint, the smoker settles himself comfortably upon his side, takes up a little of the treacle-like opium which is brought to him in a small clam shell, upon a long steel needle, or yen hanck, and holding it above the flame of the lamp, watches it bubble and swell to eight or ten times its original size. In doing so it loses its inky hue, becomes of a bright golden brown color, and gives off a creamy odor, much admired by old smokers. . . . The opium pipe is called by the Chinese the yen tsiang, or opium pistol. . . . The other articles necessary to complete a smoker’s outfit are: a box of buffalo horn (hop toy) to hold the opium; a long needle (yen hanck), on the end of which the opium is taken up, ‘cooked,’ and fixed upon the bowl; a small glass lamp, with a perforated bell-shaped glass cover, and in which sweet or nut oil is burned; a pair of scissors for trimming the wick; straight and curved knives for cleaning the needle and bowl; a sponge to clean and cool the surface of the bowl; a box for the ash, or yen tshi; and two trays, the one smaller than the other, on which all these articles rest” (Kane, emphasis in original).

Town Topics (TT), January 18, 1917, p. 15, Fig. 3.2

A couple decades later, electric opium layouts are seemingly en vogue when a musical actress’s new treasure is mentioned in Town Topics’ “Saunterings” (Fig. 3.2). During the 1910s and 1920s, opium use through means of smoking becomes somewhat of a status symbol, something that only people like this aforementioned actress can afford (Keire 810).

Fig. 5.1

Opium dens, where all kinds of people gather to smoke together, can be found all across the world. In the USA, the San Francisco, CA, dens are especially infamous, while the New York City dens were described as less extravagant in Harper’s Weekly.

“The principal places in this city where opium is smoked are in Mott, Pell, and Park streets. There is one in Chrystie Street, one in Twenty-third Street, and several in Fourth and Second avenues. Besides these, there are private rooms where a few friends, having provided themselves with a full outfit, smoke in secrecy, and a number of Chinese laundries where a few Americans smoke. All of these places, except the one in Twenty-third Street, which is presided over by a white woman and her two daughters, and the private rooms, are kept by Chinamen. These places are, as a rule, in the basement, and consist of a small, low-ceilinged room, guiltless of all furniture save long wooden bunks, about four feet in width, made of board and covered with matting. There is usually but one tier, raised about two feet from the floor. A long narrow board, sometimes beveled, running along the wall just above the bunk, or small stools covered with cloth, serve as pillows, or, more properly, head-rests, for the smokers” (Kane).

 

Fig. 5.2

TT, January 3, 1889, p. 7, Fig. 7.1

Many of the scandalous stories on Town Topics’ pages are based on opium consumption. Be it a private smoking den which is frequented by a high-profile clientele, a wealthy matron who has succumbed to the poppy’s splendor, or a young couple on an out-of-control night out (Fig. 7.1, 7.2, 7.3).

TT, July 19, 1888, p. 1, Fig. 7.2

Though the magazine reports all sorts of gossip on the topic of opium use and addiction, there seems to be a slight tonal difference made between stories of recreational use by adventurous youngsters and those of often older subjects, who are considered victims of the habit. 

TT, January 3, 1895, p. 8, Fig. 7.3

It is notable that a lot of the addiction stories covered in Town Topics reflect the “perceived femininity of addiction” that prevailed in the late 19th century (Keire 809). Specifically, the figure of the middle-class matron is considered the typical addict during this time (ibd.). 

TT, December 11, 1913, p.  11, Fig. 10

Sometimes not even true love can defy drug addiction. Such is the fate of this formerly renowned “love match” who have filed for divorce not even two years after their wedding (Fig. 10). 

TT, March 4, 1915, p. 12, Fig. 12

The 1914 Harrison Narcotic Act aims to control drug usage by limiting access to them to only medical personnel and patients with the proper prescriptions (Hickman 1270). Town Topics looks skeptically upon the new law and doubts its effectiveness. 

The law was a result of federal recognition that “local and state-level regulations were not adequate to the task of controlling [drugs]” (Gabriel 336). 

TT, April 29, 1915, p. 9, Fig. 13.1

In the media, opium is now viewed as an exotic, strange and aesthetic feature to embellish plays, movies and stories.

TT, July 5, 1923, p.17, Fig. 13.2

The thematic inclusion of the drug in theatre plays and books lends them a dangerous and captivating quality that seemingly entices audiences.