Items in the collection were gathered by Barbara Hodgson. Many of the items were reproduced in Hodgson’s non-fiction publications In the Arms of Morpheus: The Tragic History of Laudanum, Morphine and Patent Medicines (2001) and Opium: A Portrait of the Heavenly Demon (1999). Hodgson was particularly interested in representations of opium production, transportation, sale, and ingestion, as well as similar representations of laudanum and patent medications containing morphine. Geographical areas depicted include China, countries in South Asia, and countries in the Middle East. Many representations of opium ingestion in the collection are orientalist in nature; individuals who have South Asian, Chinese, or Middle Eastern heritage are depicted in a racist, exoticized manner by Western film or medicine companies in order to lend an aura of “glamour” to various products.

The collection spans 223 books searchable through the UBC Library Catalogue and the following archival files created by Hodgson: Trade Cards; Postcards and Stereo Cards; Movie Stills; Portraits of Writers and Performers; Pharmaceutical Documents, U.S. Federal Order Forms, Medication Advertisements, and Stamps; Print Copies of Engravings; and Canadian Customs Tariff Book, 1897. As is apparent from this list, archival documents were aggregated based on their form. Principle documentary forms in the collection include the following: trade cards created by Victorian-era patent medicine companies; postcards; stereo cards; film stills from a variety of films; copies of film reviews; photographs; postage stamps; advertisements; handwritten prescriptions; pharmacy stock lists; U.S. Treasury Department order forms; anti-narcotic postage stamps; a package of Stanback Headache Powder; print copies of engravings; and a Canadian customs tariff book from 1897.

File comprises one customs tariff book belonging to Collector of Customs A.R. Milne. The volume, published by the Canadian Customs Department, lists the price of importing opium.

File contains black and white film stills depicting the use of opium, head shots of actors starring in opium-related films, and copies of film reviews.

File contains black and white film stills depicting the use of opium, head shots of actors starring in opium-related films, and copies of film reviews.

File contains ephemera related to the transportation, pharmaceutical dispensation, and federal regulation of opium, particularly within the United States and Canada. Document types include anti-narcotic postage stamps developed by United Nations, a package of Stanback Headache Powder, advertisements for patent medicines containing opium, handwritten pharmaceutical prescriptions in Chinese and English, pharmacy stock lists, and U.S. Treasury Department order forms.

File contains photographs and postcards depicting writers and performers known for their use of opium. Key figures represented include Colette, Charles Baudelaire, Jean Cocteau, Oscar Wilde, and more.

File contains positive transparencies featuring English books and periodicals depicting opium and morphine use. Transparencies also depict famous English individuals noted for their opium use.

File contains positive transparencies featuring French books and periodicals depicting opium and morphine use. Transparencies also depict famous French individuals noted for their opium use.

File contains positive transparencies depicting pharmaceutical paraphernalia related to morphine and opium use. Paraphernalia includes various hypodermic kits and needles, vials, throat pastilles, and bottles.

File contains positive transparencies depicting opium-smoking paraphernalia. Paraphernalia includes opium boxes, various pipes, scales, and lamps.

File contains positive transparencies originating from the Vancouver Police Museum and Archives. Transparencies depict individuals who were arrested in Vancouver for drug-related reasons.

File contains positive transparencies depicting Hodgson’s photographs of poppies, lobby cards, sheet music, and pharmaceutical prescriptions for laudanum.

File contains colour and black and white stereo cards and postcards depicting the transportation, sale, and ingestion of opium.

File contains colour and black and white stereo cards and postcards depicting the transportation, sale, and ingestion of opium.

File contains print copies of engravings depicting the production, transportation, sale, and ingestion of opium. Key figures represented include Walter Scott, Lord Clive, Reverend George Crabbe, Samuel Johnson, and Robert Southey.

File contains collectible, illustrated trade cards created by Victorian-era patent medicine companies to advertise medications containing morphine. A representative example is a trade card depicting a healthy, sleeping child who has been treated with Parker’s Tonic. In a similar vein, a card advertising Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup features a mother and a content, albeit teething, child.