Written in 1832 by Henry James Meller, Nicotiana; Or, The Smoker’s and Snuff-Taker’s Companion offers an eclectic collection of information and entertainment related to tobacco. It jumps across genres, including the history of tobacco, poetry related to tobacco, a review of relevant laws and regulations, and a review of the medical qualities of the plant.

Meller starts his book by acknowledging these various topics:

“The earth, perhaps, has never offered the user of man a herb, whose history and adoption offer so varied a subject for thought and the mind’s speculation, as tobacco. In whatever light we view it, there is something of interest to the botanist, the physician, the philosopher, and even the historian”

The most surprising section to a modern reader is, “The Importance of Smoking and Snuff-Taking, Exemplified In a Grave Dissertation, Dedicated to the Youth of the Rising Generation.” In this section, Meller defends tobacco with soaring arguments that boil down to:

  • Many great men have used tobacco, and it has increased their creativity
  • Perhaps some people with certain constitutions are killed by tobacco, though there’s risk in many things we find worthwhile
  • People with “weak palates” don’t enjoy tobacco, so they become enemies of its use
  • Dislike of the plant is nothing more than prejudice
  • Stimulants to the mind are necessary, and tobacco is one of many acceptable ones

Meller recounts the opinions of many physicians about medicinal effects. It’s a brief, but interesting, look into how tobacco was viewed medicinally at the time of writing.

The book also contains poetry, both Meller’s own original work and collected poems from various sources.

There are a couple of particularly interesting tidbits about cigars near the end of the book:

“The best and most approved cigars consumed among our nobility and gentry, are those brought from the Havanah in the West Indies. The Woodfille, so called from the name of the importer, are held in the greatest estimation. In form, these should gradually decline from the middle to long and tapering ends. Color, a clear raw sienna brown, variegated with bright brown and yellow spots. In flavour they should be light and spicy, draw free, leaving a firm white ash.”

And this bizarre anecdote about what was passed off as cigars:

“Without entering into a description of the numerous kinds of cigars vended in the United Kingdom, we can only remark, as a fact well authenticated, that the greater and more common part, sold from eight to thirteen shillings the hundred; are prepared from the cabbage-leaf, soaked in a strong solution of tobacco-water.”

Nicotiana; Or, The Smoker’s and Snuff-Taker’s Companion is in the public domain and can be read for free on Project Gutenberg.