One last note on the long, storied history of mind-altering plants. (It seems that as soon as we came to the notion that we were human, self-aware and special, we have been looking for ways to alter that reality.)
Recently, I was looking through Karen Sue's collection of books and I came across the Golden Guide for "Hallucinogenic Plants." It still had the price—$1.39— she paid for it at a local used book store. She bought it because it "looked interesting," a folk history of mushrooms and plants used to alter reality. Originally, it had sold for $1.95 in the 1970s.
I grew up with the Golden Guides, the books were my first field guides and I still have a good collection, but not this one.
Why?
It's probably the most valuable; they're really hard to find. Parents complained. Even though it was the heady days of the 1960s and '70s, producing a guide for younger readers of hallucinogenic plants was not a good idea and the publisher soon pulled it from the market. There are just not that many copies in circulation.
Today, if you find one in hardcover, the pocket-sized field book sells for between $200 and $300 or even more. It's become quite a collectible, if you can get your head around that.
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4 comments:
Most of the blogs I follow are a little melancholy today. You've capped it. Thought I was going to get weeks of advice on green hallucinogenics. How about scanning the little book and giving us a page now and again. As I understand life, being blessed with intelligence as opposed to common sense is anything but a blessing, all the best.
Hello Adrian! Perhaps you are right. Maybe I should scan each page and put it out there. The history behind the various plants, their ceremonial usage is most fascinating.
That is so cool you found that book. I would love to get a glimpse inside. Purely out of curiosity, mind you. :)
Hello BriteCloud.
How are you?
Yes. It's really quite a fun book. Your basic field guide with a lot of history tossed in for good measure.
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