Map of New York City to Accompany The Temperance Movement or the Conflict Between Man & Alcohol

“A chart of the capital city of the region of despair.” – Henry William Blair

This fascinating, persuasive map of New York City was issued as part of The Temperance Movement or the Conflict Between Man & Alcohol, a volume written by William Henry Blair and published in Boston by the William E. Smythe Company in 1888. Blair was a Congressman and Senator from New Hampshire, and during his work as the former, he introduced the first prohibition bill in United States history. His work is a lengthy examination of the evils of alcohol, the benefits of total abstention of drinking, and temperance organizations and their goals. The map, prepared in New York by G.W. & C.B. Colton, is a striking accompaniment that provides visual ‘proof’ of the city’s drunken hedonism. Blair’s work explains,

“When we consider that this great city controls the pivotal State of the Union, and how helplessly it drifts in the maelstrom of alcohol, we require more than the faith which removes mountains if we are still to hope for the republic. Whoever continues to hope – and not only do we hope, but we will conquer yet – must have the courage to attack and destroy this plague.”

The image does very much look like a city infected with the measles – red dots representing ‘saloons or places where liquor was obtainable’ are scattered throughout. Notable concentrations can be seen along the waterfront, down nearly all of Third Avenue, and in the Theater District. According to the text below the title, over 9,000 licensed locations are identified within the image. A wonderful example of the ambitious efforts undertaken by the Temperance Movement in the late 19th century, with New York exemplified as the modern-day Gomorrah.