TEMPERANCE CYLOPAEDIA

Of History, Biography, Ancedote and Illustration

by Rev. J. B. Wakeley

From the Preface the author states: "I have been familiar with the evils of intemperance, with its woes, sorrows, babblings, redness of eyes and serpent-bite". Book is 243 pages of temperance tidbits such as:

What A Whiskey Barrel Contains...Senator Rusk, of Texas, was once at an Indian "talk" when a man drove up with a barrel of whiskey. An old Indian asked Mr. Rusk if he knew what was in the barrel. He said he presumed it was whiskey. No said the Indian, "there are about a thousand songs and fifty fights in that barrel."

Great stories such as:

Spontaneous Combustion of Drunkards........A Drunkard's Brain

Chairman of the Drinking Club and His Companions.

An Argument for Drinking....One More Spree

Sad End of an Eloquent Lawyer....The Drunkard's Will.

Publ. National Temperance Society and Publication House, NY, 1879, HB/ no DJ green covers with gilt embossing, 243 pages, 

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"The American Temperance Cyclopedia" - History, Biography, Anecdote and Illustration". by J.B. Wakeley, D.D.,National Temperance Society. (1875) FIRST EDITION. Hardcover, 243 pages. Very good condition, tight book. (piece of tape on spine with a library #, was used at La Salette College library). This book is a vintage jewel of 1800's Americana. Precursor to Alcoholics Anonymous, it contains extremely interesting stories.  Book opens with an engraving of the author; first page has a Shakespeare quote: "O thou invisible spirit of wine! If thou hast no name to be known by, let me call thee devil! Oh, that men should put an enemy into their mouths and steal away their brains." This book is loaded with (very) brief accounts of the pain, anguish, terror, and sometimes humor of the suffering alcoholic. It has some medical opinions too, including a fascinating account of how some alcoholics have been known to have "spontaneous combustion", they literally have caught fire from WITHIN and burned to death due to being so physically saturated in alcohol, 
(see pages 49 and 222). Page 214 speaks of the beginning of the Women's Temperance Movement. On page 154 it tells how a bar had the sign "LIVE AND LET LIVE" inside, and this is now a famous A.A. slogan; how's that for irony? It contains a list of names of eminent members, and of those who have helped them in the past, including the name BENJAMIN RUSH, (signer of the Declaration of Independence, page 238). The WASHINGTONIANS, a long defunct temperance group mentioned by Bill Wilson in the A.A. "Big Book" is mentioned on page 193. A solemn Abstinence Pledge appears on page 58. A highly interesting piece of Americana appears on page 185, in the form of a story called "Temperance Society and Sambo". This story would be highly insulting to today's blacks, as it uses the word "nigger" and pokes fun at the illiteracy of some blacks of those days. A list of various Temperance Organizations appears on Page 187. What is striking and memorable about this book is the profound sadness and suffering it accounts of alcoholics and their families. Some of these stories are truly frightening, including one about a drunk who dreamed he was damned to Hell, begged for mercy, and was returned to earth with his pledge of never drinking again. One year later to the day he picked up a drink, got drunk, and fell to his death. An extremely interesting antique book, and a rare look into the inner circle and pain of the early Temperance Movement people.