John Cunningham — The Dream God

John Cunningham, 1873
Illustrated by Marco Sabbatani
 
The peculiar and startling effect of morphine on a person unaccustomed to its administration was happily illustrated in the instance of a gentleman to whom, under its influence (about three-eighths of a grain,) the dream to be related occurred. 
 
The Dream-God, or a Singular Evolvement of Thought in Sleep (1873), is, on the face of it, an account of a dream recalled and written down from memory of a journey taken under the influence of morphine administered as he recovered from a burn sustained on a South Carolina plantation. What ensues is a Swiftian night journey, an American Miraj, during which the sleeper is taken by the God of Sleep, Hypnos, on a flight around the world, taking in its elemental and spiritual wonders and the courts of empires. 
 
This is a whimsical satire of the world as it appeared in the New York newspapers of the time, when Russian imperial expansion was a source of anxiety, and the Qing and Ottoman courts were a source of deep Orientalist fascination. Underlying this is a Masonic discourse on the unity of religions which anticipates, and with its interest in Eastern religions may reflect, the foundation of Theosophy in New York in 1875. 
 
As such, this charming text illustrates how Theosophy crystallized from a literate alternative culture with global interests and reach. 
 
Artist Marco Sabbatani, who previously collaborated with us on The Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire and A Season in Hell by Arthur Rimbaud, has once again graced one of our projects, infusing it with his distinctive style that marries a rich atmosphere, ominous imagery, and a touch of psychedelia. For The Dream-God, he created the cover, such as five illustrations in the book.