The International Cultivator’s Handbook
Wandering the narrow, musty isles of a now defunct used bookstore in downtown San Diego, I happened upon an oddly shaped tanned book buried deep in one of the hundreds of overflowing and teetering dog-eared shelves. Sliding it out of the shadows and into the flicker of the florescent lights I flipped it over in my hands and was greeted by an mesmerizing picture of a elderly pipe-smoking Asian from a time long past. What I was holding was an amazingly well-preserved copy of The International Cultivator’s Handbook written by one William Daniel Drake Jr.
In this book, William Drake discusses the cultivation techniques and serving suggestions for hashish, coca, opium, and cannabis. Contained within its pages were brilliantly amateurish photos snapped from around the world showing peoples from various cultures growing, harvesting, and ingesting a bevy of exotic and illicit substances. I instantly fell for the low-fi, xeroxed, and pixilated black & white photos that were shuttered in a time long before computers and Adobe Photoshop existed. I could imaging this William Drake person traveling the world with nothing more than a Kodak camera and an adventurous desire to understand not only how drugs are manufactured, but also to appreciate the cultures from which these drugs originated from.
Personally I don’t use drugs, but I could appreciate the amount of work that went into this book and the bravery it took to willingly travel into what I’m almost certain were potentially hostile environments. I’m sure the world was a bit tamer in 1974 when this book was published, but I’m guessing that the dangers and threats from a society dependent on the production of drugs was still tangible and I’m sure very real.
I’ve been wondering what ever became of William Drake. Has his pace slowed with the years, possibly enjoying his golden years content with the knowledge that he managed to get several books printed in his lifetime, possibly helping to shape the lives of countless numbers of people? Did he lose his mind or did he find enlightenment? Would he be available to autograph a copy of one of his books? Is he still with us, or has he left this mortal coil?
Regardless, to cover all bases and honor his passing/non-passing, here are a selection of the photos found in The International Cultivator’s Handbook (click to embiggen):
UPDATE: William Drake was kind enough to comment on this post, and even offered to sign my copy of this book. Mr. Drake is still very much active, running an info-heavy web site entitled Smoke And Illusion where you can order an online version of his latest book The Cultivator’s Handbook of Native, Natural Tobacco.
UPDATE 2: Mr. Drake was a man of his word, going out of his way to sign my copy of his book. Check it out in this post.
Imagine how much fun it was for me to read this post! Thanks for the wonderful compliments. Yep, I’m still alive, and still having fun. I’ll be happy to sign your copy of my ‘International Cultivators’ – send me an email and I’ll reply with my mailing address. BTW – check my web site – you might be interested in what I’m doing these days.