Opium bottles, circa late 1800's
The rainbow patina on these opium bottles belies the deadly reality behin the delicate hues. The bottles were recovered from the remains of a Chinese hotel operated in the late 1800's in a tiny mining town hundreds of miles north of Vancouver, B.C.
These opium bottles from the 1800s remind me of the 1977 film "The Deep" where Jaqueline Bisset and Nick Nolte stumble upon thousands of morphine ampules while diving in the Caribbean.It also lead to massive famines due to forced cultivation of opium in lieu of food crops in India by Britain.
"The bottles once held opium based 'elixirs,' such as Dr. McMunn's Elixir of Opium ..." "The bottles once held opium based 'elixirs,' such as Dr. McMunn's Elixir of Opium ..."
Dr. McMunn’s Elixir of Opium was listed in the American Journal of Pharmacy in 1846 as a cold infusion of opium and wine. Until it was banned in 1905, opium was cheaper than beer or gin (in 1868, the price per pound of Turkish opium was $11, or about $171 in today’s value), and just as easy to obtain. You could buy opium in grocery stores, by mail order, and over the counter at pharmacies. An 1883-to-1885 survey of Iowa showed its two million residents had access to 3,000 stores that sold opium. Women used opiates more than men. Of 1,313 opiate users surveyed in Michigan in 1878, 61.2% were women. Another survey in 1880 in Chicago found that 169 of 235 users were women (71%); one-third of this group were prostitutes.ping
Interesting read!
I always thought this whole opium thing started because of the British thirst for Chinese tea.
I'm sure the Paulites would love to see them back in action again.
In the movie BITE THE BULLET (I saw it at the movie in 1975, wide screen) there is a scene in which a Vaquero has a toothache and asks the girl at the sales counter for something for it.
She says “Ive got just the thing!” and turns around to the BAYER display, grabs some pills, and says...”HEROIN!”
In the pan and scan version on STARZ western channel the BAYER display us cut out.
Another interesting read about dangerous and/or illicit substances is The Poisoners Handbook. This one is specifically about the development of forensic medicine in New York City during Prohibition. Most folks do not know this, but the federal government put poison in industrial alcohol to dissuade illegal use. The results were horrifying.
Now the FDA approves liver shredder statins, and killer FenPhen weight loss pills. Toxic chemo, and cigarettes.