Review: 'Phantastica' by Louis Lewin

Originally published in Germany in 1924 'Phantastica' by Louis Lewin was first published in English in 1931. This review is written from the Park Street Press edition, 1998. The text is an early attempt at a categorisation of psychoactive drugs and while, in many respects, it is dated, especially pharmacologically, it still remains an important document; both as a resource for historical information and as a fascinating curiosity, which had a huge affect on drug writing in the twentieth century.

The author Louis Lewin (1850-1929) was born in Tuchel, in Western Prussia. He spent the majority of his life living in Berlin, where he graduated from the University of Berlin in 1875 as a medical doctor, specialising in pharmacology and was an expert in the field of toxicology. Known for his extraordinary style of lecturing, which held "audiences spellbound", he also had a wide-ranging knowledge of history, geography and anthropology, and was able to "quote flawlessly in foreign languages without any hesitation". With 248 major publications between 1874-1929, Lewin was a leading academic of his time but it was his interest in the side-effects of certain drugs that he is primarily remembered for now and with which this book is concerned.