Australia never enacted prohibition laws at the state or local levels, but temperance organizations flourished across the country. These studio photographs — depicting five stages of inebriation — were taken in the 1860s, and were likely commissioned for educational purposes. They’re hilarious.
Today, it’s like looking at Reefer Madness in still life. (And, is it just me, or does “Stage Three” appear to be zombification?)
[Via Retronaut and State Library of New South Wales]
