The Alternative World of the Proud Non-Drinker: nineteenth-century public displays of Temperance

Abstract

While Victorian public discourse, habits, and material culture often focused upon drinking alcohol, there was also a very visible alternative. The total abstinence movement, from its inception in the 1830s, had inspirational leaders such as Joseph Livesey who advocated “Eyegate” and “Eargate” as key ways to recruit members and spread interest in this form of temperance. Public displays during the period such as parades and processions, galas, bazaars, displays, and magic lantern shows, were supported by material culture – not merely badges, banners and posters, but the urban landscape of towns, cities and even villages. An alternative world existed in which the non-drinker could stay at a temperance hotel, drink at a temperance coffee or cocoa house, relax in a temperance music hall or temperance billiard room, travel with Thomas Cook’s temperance tours, and receive instruction and entertainment at the local temperance hall. While the buildings gave permanent witness, public events provided peaks of spectacle, reinforcing identity and sustaining members’ interest. They represented the ‘alternative world’ visibly and had a key role in spreading the message to the wider community.