Speaking Pictures : Alcohol Reduces Vitality

Abstract

ALCOHOL REDUCES VITALITY and the power of RESISTING DISEASE

Doctor- "If he had only been an abstainer I could have pulled him through."

This set of lantern slides, ‘Speaking Pictures’ sums up the use of visual media in the temperance movement. It combines images, slogans, and comments from respected figures such as Sir Victor Alexander Haden Horsley, a scientist and professor who was made Director of Surgery of the British Army Medical Service during the 1914-18 war.

The medical professionals shown on this slide embody the health argument for temperance. The teetotaller is cited as having a better chance of recovery, as well as less likely to fall ill in the first place.