Anthology Editions - Peter Watts - Altered States: The Library of Julio Santo Domingo

Julio Mario Santo Domingo (1957-2009) was a collector and visionary who filled his homes and warehouses with the world’s greatest private collection related to the subjects of drugs, sex, magic, and rock and roll. A library of more than 50,000 items, it contained everything from rare manuscripts and photos to posters, bottles, letters, opium pipes, and pinball machines.

Exploring the innumerable influences of mind-enhancing drugs on art, science, and politics over the centuries, Santo Domingo’s collection contained work by diverse figures including Andy Warhol, Timothy Leary, Sigmund Freud, the Marquis de Sade, Charles Baudelaire, Allen Ginsberg, the Rolling Stones, Aleister Crowley, and many more. This extraordinary collection is vividly documented in Altered States: The Library of Julio Santo Domingo.

At once comprehensive and fantastical, informative and hallucinatory, this beautifully-designed book highlights pieces from the collection to create a visually stunning and endlessly surprising celebration of the Santo Domingo library. Shedding light on an often misunderstood force in history, Altered States is an unprecedented insight into the effect of drugs on life, politics and popular culture.