Catalog Archive
Auction 183, Lot 43

"[Map of Temperance]"

Subject: Cartographic Miscellany, Fictional Map

Period: 1835 (dated)

Publication: The American Temperance Almanac of New York

Color: Black & White

Size:
6.1 x 3.8 inches
15.5 x 9.7 cm
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This map was published by the New York State Temperance Society within their Almanac for 1835, which also included stories and articles about the dangers of alcohol. The map centers on the "Ocean of Intemperance" and includes written remarks on the inevitable path that men will follow should they find themselves in Lake Animal Appetite. After traveling through one of the rivers of Wine, Cider, Beer, or No Confidence, a man will find himself at No Sabbath Islands, and then on to Gin Sound and Swearing Islands. This will naturally lead him to Poverty Bay and the town of Hardscrabble, where he will likely leave his wife and children due to nearby access to the Alms-House. Thereafter they are eventually bound for either the State Prison or the Gallows if they are not able to find their way to the Sea of Total Abstinance. The map and accompanying text serve as a warning to stay away from alcohol and for "parents to explain it to their children, during the long winter evenings." This lot consists of two bifolia that include the map and its associated text, almanac for September and October, and several "stories for children." The American Temperance Almanac was published by the New York State Temperance Society between 1833-45.

References:

Condition: A

The map is clean and bright and the additional page of text has foxing.

Estimate: $180 - $220

Sold for: $100

Closed on 6/9/2021

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