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Smokiana: Historical; Ethnographical cover

Smokiana: Historical; Ethnographical

Chapter 23: INDIA.
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About This Book

A richly illustrated survey documents the history, botany, and ethnography of tobacco and related smoking plants alongside a catalog of pipes and smoking apparatus from around the world. It describes botanical varieties of Nicotiana, regional smoking customs, and the materials and forms of pipes — clay, briar, soapstone, gourd, hookah and opium apparatus — and reproduces historic woodcuts and maker stamps. Organized as descriptive entries with images and captions, the work compares local manufacturing traditions, ceremonial uses, and changing fashions in smoking paraphernalia across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the Pacific.

INDIA.

The Persian Fashion doubtless soon took India by storm & the maharajahs found in Hookahs a new object of luxury & one capable of unbounded decoration, in fact a new field for native talent to embellish & enrich. The upper bowl which contains the tobacco is called

The Chillum

whatever the material whether richly embossed or the simple red clay which tries one’s lips at BENARES. These State Hookahs are of considerable height running to Thirty inches & Three feet—with coils of tubing—which terminates in a silver mouth-piece.