Alcohol, Temperance & Prohibition

The digitized items in the Alcohol, Temperance and Prohibition Collection are from the Alcoholism and Addiction Studies Collection, as well as from various collections in the Brown University Library — broadsides, sheet music, pamphlets and government publications. The items have been collected at Brown for over three centuries for researchers and scholars at Brown and worldwide interested in American history, including the history of alcoholism, how the media was used for spreading ideas and information, and in how the arts presented various movements. The purpose of this digital collection is to give researchers and interested individuals a glimpse into the rich and diverse resources at Brown's library. All of the digital items are in the public domain. The digitized pamphlets were published by various groups leading up to prohibition, during the prohibition era, and ending with the 21st amendment in 1933, which repealed the 18th amendment from 1919 prohibiting the manufacturing, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors.
This collection is part of Brown University Library, hosted by Brown University.

Items in this collection

The saloon bar

The saloon bar

Brown University

Poetry. Printed on card stock. Suggested range of publication dates from internal evidence.

The safe side

The safe side

Brown University

By Mrs. M.A. Holt. At head of title cut of two boys shoveling snow. Caption title At head of title four-line poem beginning: The first little drop of strong drink that is taken. In upper right corner of page [1]: No. 47. Suggested range of publication dates from internal evidence.

The rumseller's foe

The rumseller's foe

Brown University

Printed in two columns divided by single line. Poem in 23 four-line stanzas. At head of text: Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1881, by James Jowitt, in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.

The rumseller and the mosquito

The rumseller and the mosquito

Brown University

Poetry and prose. Printed within double line border; pages numbered 356, 31, 46, and 36. Below rule at end of text of each of the first three pages: Anti-Tobacco Tract Depository, Fitchburg, Mass. - Geo. Trask. Possible range of dates suggested by internal evidence.

The rum maniac

The rum maniac

Brown University

by Joseph Alison Poetry and prose Cover title At head of text wood-engraving of sick man in bed tormented by demons. Date from mention of Maine liquor law passed in 1851 and other internal evidence. First line: Say, Doctor, may I not have rum.

The road to ruin

The road to ruin

Brown University

words by Edmund E. Field. Poetry. At head of text: Dedicated to Pilgrim Division No. 31, S. of T. Probably S. of T. stands for Sons of Temperance. Words of song in three eight-line stanzas, with four-line chorus. Date approximation from internal evidence.

The Ramrod's prayer

The Ramrod's prayer

Brown University

Satirical poem attacks Neal Dow and Prohibition advocates Satirical poem attacks Neal Dow and Prohibition advocates Within border of type ornaments. Poem in seven four-line stanzas. At end of text: Amen. Suggested range of publication dates from internal evidence.

The rainbow temperance song

The rainbow temperance song

Brown University

Dedicated to the sons of temperance and good templars of the United Sates, by their friend & brother E. Z. C. Judson (Ned Buntline)

The psychic treatment of inebriety and its relation to so-called cures

The psychic treatment of inebriety and its relation to so-called cures

Brown University

by L.D. Mason. Title from caption. Reprinted from the Journal of the American Medical Association, February 23, 1907, vol. xlviii, pp. 684-687 -- (cover) "Read in the section on Hygiene and Sanitary Science at the Fifty-seventh Annual Session of the American Medical Association, Boston, 1906."

The Prohibitionist--Extra

The Prohibitionist--Extra

Brown University

Printed in one and two columns divided by single line. At end of text space left for names, number of copies and post office addresses of new subscribers. Publication date suggested from mention of a copy of the Prohibitionist for December, with the second volume to begin Jan. 1, 1855.