This map, entitled, ‘The Temperance Movement, or the Conflict Between Man and Alcohol,’ was printed in Boston in 1886. It depicts the island of Manhattan in black, with each saloon licensed to sell liquor mapped in red ink. There were over 9,000 such saloons in Manhattan at this time, according to the caption on the map. The map’s scope covers Manhattan south of 115th street, the Jersey City docks, and the western the edges of Brooklyn and Long Island. It was originally published in Henry William Blair’s book, The Temperance Movement, with the intention of illustrating how rampant the spread and use of alcohol was in the city in the late nineteenth century. The map is a reduced version of J. H. Colton’s map of New York City, with red ink added.

Blair was a Republican senator from New Hampshire who advocated for the Temperance Movement, introducing the first federal prohibition bill to Congress in 1876. In 1919, the 18th Amendment was ratified, officially prohibiting the manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcohol. Prohibition would later be repealed by the passage of the 21st Amendment in 1933.

Original colour. [USA9806]