Here at the Center of Alcohol Studies Library, we are digging up and digitizing the archives. We have a vast and valuable collection of original pamphlets from the Temperance Movement and Prohibition era. We are scanning these items and collecting their metadata in order to make them findable for future use. These items are a part of the Alcohol History Collection and most of them do not exist digitally, making them valuable.
These pamphlets are a historical snapshot of what our country knew and how the public felt about alcohol at the time of these publications. Topic coverage includes documented meetings, speeches and hearings, medical information, legal information, reports, articles, advertisements, and religious and moral propaganda. There was a range between those with moderate views of alcohol being medicinal and harmless in moderation, while others viewed it as evil-the work of the devil- and the downfall of our nation. There were many advocates and organizations formed to promote temperance and fight for the 18th Amendment, and this collection contains many publications from those organizations. This eclectic assortment covers all angles of this fascinating period.
It appears that those who took the anti-alcohol position had valid reasons and were not so outlandish in their claims and fears. Alcohol abuse was a serious threat to our country at the time. By 1830, “the average American over 15 years old consumed nearly seven gallons of pure alcohol a year,” which was three times more than what we drink today (pbs.org).
This continual project is one that requires careful and gentle handling, as well as wearing a ventilation mask. The delicate materials are old, decaying, and contain mildew as a result of exposure to the elements in the years prior to the proper containment and preservation by the Center of Alcohol Studies Library. The types of materials include a rainbow of subjects, sources and sizes. Some appear to be as long as books, while others are tiny inserts, like the pledge form below from the National Temperance Society, which was organized in 1866. So far, the pamphlets’ publication dates range between 1829 and 1978.
Rutgers Undergraduate student, Fatma Mohamed, who has been assisting with the scanning of these pamphlets, says the most difficult part of this process is carefully handling the items and making sure the pages and bindings don’t tear or rip. We have had to choose to forego scanning a handful of items in order to preserve their delicate conditions. These pamphlets have significant historical value and insight into our country’s past relationship with alcohol. The purpose of this project is to have them digitized and made accessible outside of the library with safe and easy handling for years past their degradation. No masks or sifting through boxes necessary.
UPDATE:
- The Devil’s Mouthwash Collection on Omeka (free version)
- The Devil’s Mouthwash project (YouTube video)
Both created by Sc&I students for course Digital Library Technologies taught by J. H. Ward in Spring 2014
–Written by Graduate Assistant Jessica Maratea. Originally published in the November 2014 issue of the CAS Information Services Newsletter