Picturing the Demon Drink: How Children were Shown Temperance Principles in the Band of Hope

Abstract

The UK Temperance movement attracted millions of members in the nineteenth and twentieth century, including children. Probably the most successful of the many groupings was the children’s organization, the Band of Hope (1847–1995), and there is a rich legacy of teaching materials, including magic lantern slides, which enables later generations to discover and evaluate its use of visual discourse. This article explores the visual means by which the message was spread and members were gained, sustained, and given material for their own missionary endeavors. The argument highlights the importance of the pioneering visual tools for communicating these messages used by the Band of Hope.