The Temperance Movement by Henry William Blair from 1888
Henry William Blair’s The Temperance Movement or The Conflict Between Man and Alcohol presents a sweeping denunciation of intemperance, framing alcohol as one of the greatest threats to human civilization. Blair, a prominent U.S. Senator from New Hampshire in the late 19th century, was deeply involved in social reform and temperance advocacy, lending political weight to the growing movement against alcohol.
This 1888 publication preserves Blair’s dramatic reflections on the destructive power of alcohol. In the preface, Blair compares the struggle against alcohol to a war more destructive than any other in human history. He declares intemperance a curse intertwined with civilization itself, warning that without decisive reform, humanity’s future is imperiled.
Passages such as: “It is not an exaggeration to say that no other evil known in human history has been of such vast proportions and large consequences as that of alcoholic intemperance… the miserable and pernicious traffic will perish forever, execrated by man and consumed in the fiercest flames of God’s wrath.” demonstrate the passion and urgency that fueled the temperance crusade. Works like this helped shape the cultural climate that would, decades later, contribute to national Prohibition.
Collector’s Significance
As an original 19th-century edition (1888), this volume stands as a vivid primary source from the height of the temperance era. It captures the rhetoric and reformist energy that predated modern recovery fellowships and provides important historical context for the social and political forces that came before Alcoholics Anonymous.
Even in worn condition, an 1888 printing remains a meaningful artifact of temperance publishing and a substantive addition to collections focused on recovery history and American reform movements.
Book Details
Title: The Temperance Movement or The Conflict Between Man and Alcohol
Author: Henry William Blair
Publisher: WILLIAM E. SMYTHE COMPANY,
Edition: Original 19th-century edition
Printing: 1888 publication
Publication Year: 1888
Signed: No
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Poor — cover partially detached from binding
Dimensions (H × W × D): Approx. 9 × 6 × 2 in.
Weight: Approx. 22 oz.
Rarity / Collectibility: Original 1888 temperance work; valuable as a period source despite condition
Condition Notes
This copy is in poor condition. The cover is partially detached from the binding, and general wear is evident throughout. Interior pages remain intact and legible. Please review all photographs carefully for details on condition.
