The Art of Opium Antiques Paperback – October 18, 2007

Such a great book! Instead of just relating the well-known disastrous effects of opium, the author of this book brings new insight into the history of the drug by exploring Opium paraphernalia as an art form. It works!We are brought into the mythical Opium dens of a not so distant past, with the rich illustrations of this text. A rare photo of an 1880 Butte, Montana bunkhouse "opium den" is particularly amusing. However, it is the lush photographs of the drug paraphernalia that make this work so worthwhile. The extensive captions that accompany each photograph have enabled the author to not only inform the reader about the use and artistic achievement of these artifacts, but entertain as well.The result is a more humanizing view of the addiction itself. Knowing that these beautiful instruments were the tools in which to feed a deadly addiction gives us another vantage point to view this era of history.Anyone with the an interest in the history of China, the Chinese Diaspora living in the USA in the late 18th/19th century or the history of Southeast Asia will find this book particularly fascinating. The Art of Opium Antiques will be an essential addition to your bookshelf.

Extremely well written. Informative, interesting and great photographic illustrations.Everyone needs to followup by reading about this subject and the author with Steven's later written book " Opium Fiend ".

good book

A well written book easy to read and understand, supported with excellent photographs and illustrations. It is very informative and I candefinately recommend this book for collectors and historians.

Wonderfully illustrated guide to an art form tied to a lost tradition. Much of this was almost lost because of the stigma of drug use.

I love seeing pictures of all the parts and how they are used.

Steven Martin is the first hand expert.

The author Steven Martin separates the dross from the gold here- for now sadly the opium antiques world is peppered with fakes.A trip to our local antique fairs showed up opium pipes I just didn't like the look of- oh, they were pretty enough, but there was something wrong about them, they felt ''cold'' lacking in character, but I thought ''surely no-one is faking opium artifacts-are they? - but of course, they are indeed.The more people are made aware of a collectable, and the more demand goes up, the more clever artisans can create reproductions [to put it kindly].Shockingly there are fakes in the best collections, where people are not discerning enough to really study what they are buying. This book will undoubtedly help ''educate the eye'' of new collectors, to help prevent them from making expensive mistakes, but is also a visual delight to people who have seen a fair amount of opium antiques in the past.The photographs are beautiful, and I like to peruse the illustrations as if they were a catalogue, picking out my favourite pieces-of which there are many.The 3D stereo card is especially interesting-if one 'relaxes' ones gaze, the two opium smokers on the card leap into life, and is the closest one will ever get to being in a 19th century opium establishment.This book, and Martin's latest one,''Opium Fiend'' [which I am currently reading] makes me wish I had kept my best opium antiques that I had bought in the 1980's. I didn't realise then how rare the things I had were, and for me, Martin's book came too late...Prices have risen considerably, but for collectors starting out- you will find this book helpful and well researched.When one thinks of opium dens, one either thinks of two ends of the spectrum- the Den of Fantasy, for the wealthy, well fitted out and Allomesque, or the humbler workmen's dens basic, but no doubt welcoming to the regular customer, where a hard working rickshaw pullers pause to refuel using workhorse pipes and tall thick glass lamps so they could continue on their way, or relax after a hard muscle aching day.One extremely selfless thing Martin has done is to donate his entire collection to a Museum in America- so in future, people will be able to see a comprehensive collection all in one place.

Antalgique connu depuis la préhistoire, l'opium reste irremplaçable encore aujourd'hui dans la pharmacopée, mais il fut longtemps consommé sous forme de décoction et ce sont les Chinois qui, vers le XVIIIe siècle, se mettent à le fumer, puis en codifient l'usage avec tout le raffinement dont ils sont capables, au point d'en faire une rituel qui nécessite quantité d'ustentiles relevant d'un artisanat d'art d'une beauté stupéfiante à tous les sens du terme. Symbole de son asservissement passé aux empires coloniaux qui l'ont obligée à en accepter le commerce, jusqu'à répandre son usage dans toute les couches de la société, la jeune république populaire de Chine en bannira l'usage avec une brutalité mâtinée de nationalisme, tandis qu'aux États-Unis, différentes lois où la lutte contre la drogue se mêle à la crainte du "péril jaune" fait la même chasse aux fumeries d'opium de New York et San Francisco, depuis le début du XXe siècle et l'essor économique des quartiers chinois. Au lendemain de la Deuxième Guerre mondiale, la décolonisation mettra un terme aux manufactures britanniques et françaises d'opium à fumer, la traque des consommateurs et l'apparition de dérivés synthétiques aux effets autrement ravageurs (tels que la morphine puis l'héroïne), auront raison de l'opiomanie, et ne reste plus aujourd'hui de cette coutume disparue que des antiquités sauvées de bûchers géants par une poignée d'esthètes qui ont alimenté les musées et le marché de l'art. Steve Martin, l'auteur, est de ceux-là, un collectionneur et un expert reconnu qui couvre le sujet pour Associated Press et le "Times".Sur 128 pages, son texte présente un aperçu très complet de cet art-de-vivre délétère, illustré hélas un peu platement par Paul Lakatos, dont les cadrages rendent peu justice à la variété des pipes, bols, grattoirs, aiguilles, plateaux adornés et autres lampes à huile finement ciselées. La richesse décorative mise en avant, et quantité de photographies anciennes et cartes postales, toutes fort bien commentées, chassent heureusement cette légère déception.Le livre regorgeant de termes techniques, sa compréhension nécessite un niveau d'anglais assez avancé ou un dictionnaire à portée de mains, mais la mise en pages aérée s'avère des plus agréables et l'édition elle-même étonne par sa qualité pour un ouvrage broché aux standards américains - ils sont trop souvent imprimés sur du papier à cigarettes'. Un aperçu est visible sur le site de l'auteur, opiummuseum.com, mais je recommande à tous les curieux cet ouvrage fascinant, acheté pour ma part en vue de documenter l'écriture d'un roman.

For anybody interested in the historic/antique side of ''le fumee bleu'' then this is a lovely book to add to your collection.Lots of photos of opium antiques.Strictly for the collector, however, as this book is NOT a ''how to smoke opium'' manual.