Rare and First Edition Books from Buckingham Books

Dealer in Rare and First-Edition Books:  Western Americana; Mystery, Detective, and Espionage Fiction

Opium Eating - An Autobiographical Sketch By An Habituate ANONYMOUS

Opium Eating - An Autobiographical Sketch By An Habituate

ANONYMOUS

Other works by ANONYMOUS

Publication: Claxton, Remsen & Haffelfinger, 1876, Philadelphia

First edition. 8vo. Brown publisher's cloth decorated in gilt on spine with title, border decoration in blind stamp on front cover, preface, appendix. A scarce Civil War and drug literature title, the first full length memoir of the drug experiences of an American opium addict. In 1861, the author enlisted in the Union Army as a drummer boy and was soon fighting as a regular armed soldier notably in the battles of Sharpsburg and Chickamauga. It was at Chickamauga in 1863 that the author was captured by Confederate forces and then sent to prisons in Richmond, Danville, and finally experienced the horrors of Andersonville which he describes in moving detail. Released as part of a prisoner exchange late in the war, the author returned home with his stomach damaged due to the severe starvation. Unable to properly eat, a physician tried injections of morphine and soon the author was addicted. The book is a remarkable description of all the effects of the drug as experienced by the author which he discusses at length and also comments on the opium writings of De Quincey and Coleridge.

Inventory Number: 46913Sold -- Contact us