Five Stages Of Inebriation By Charles Percy Pickering

This photo series shows a model in a studio re-enacting the five stages of inebriation. The shoot, which coincided with the Drunkard Punishment Bill of 1886 in NSW, was possibly commissioned by a local temperance group for education purposes.

The photographer Charles Pickering took the photographs between 1863 and 1868, when society clearly felt it had a problem with alcoholism.

It appears, things have not changed that much since the mid-19th century.

Stage 1: You’ve had a couple but you're feeling great. Everyone is lovely and interested in what you have to say.

Stage 2: This is when you become a charmer and the whole world loves you.

Stage 3: You decide to let people know a few 'home truths'

Stage 4: A 5 minute nap will help. And then you can get up and drink some more

Stage 5: You don't know how, but somehow you end up in your home, fully clothed with the lights on. But at least you're alive

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