Minnie Hermon; or The Curse of Rum (1878)

[Kitty]

Minnie Hermon; or The Curse of Rum (1878) is a book written and published for the purpose of furthering the temperance movement.

This is a huge book, so I thought I'd post some interesting things that I see throughout the book. So far it's pretty depressing, but it's still a pretty interesting read. I have no idea how much of these events related in the book are true, but I'm sure they happened to someone in the course of history. So I'll be reading this over the next hundred years or so and sharing some of it.

The beginning is a long, flowery introductory chapter on the evils of alcohol. To read this, one might think that America in the 1870s was a stinking flask of rum and debauchery that was drowning in an alcoholic state of death and cruelty, only to be saved by the Temperance Movement.

This manifesto might be enough in itself for some people, but this story goes on to tell a sad story about a man's family member who laid his family to ruin by drinking. I'm about 50 pages in.

Here is the highlight so far. This is in the introduction.

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So basically they'd harass store owners until they got their way. It's shocking that this was legal!

I guess it worked in some places; dry towns and counties are still a thing.

An unrelated note: I have already found three typos.

[donnie]

Quite interesting! This sounds like a real historical oddity. What does the cover look like?

Those were certainly some belligerent tactics! (And they sold liquor in drugstores??) I'm surprised they didn't meet with some serious threats since they were disrupting a whole lucrative industry. But the temperance movement must have carried a lot of weight. After all, they did eventually succeed in getting a constitutional amendment passed!

I'm curious what the origins of that movement were and why there was so much passion behind it. Alcohol has always had the potential to cause serious problems when misused, but that goes back as long as humans have been on earth. I wonder why the feelings about it erupted at such a fevered pitch in the late 19th century.

And when I saw this post, I was immediately reminded of the Griffith Biograph film What Drink Did. I don't know if you’ve seen that one, but it certainly fits hand and glove with this book. (I would have posted it, but couldn't find one with a decent score.)

So I'll be reading this over the next hundred years or so and sharing some of it.

Oh come on, that's an exaggeration. I bet it won't be a day over 75.

[Kitty]

Quite interesting! This sounds like a real historical oddity. What does the cover look like?

I'll post some pictures in the following post.

Those were certainly some belligerent tactics! (And they sold liquor in drugstores??)

I thought it was weird, too, but if you remember that rum was prescribed for teething babies and so on, it does makes sense.

I'm curious what the origins of that movement were and why there was so much passion behind it. Alcohol has always had the potential to cause serious problems when misused, but that goes back as long as humans have been on earth. I wonder why the feelings about it erupted at such a fevered pitch in the late 19th century.

This book may answer some questions. The book is literally 856 pages, so I can't begin to imagine what will be in it.

And when I saw this post, I was immediately reminded of the Griffith Biograph film What Drink Did. I don't know if you’ve seen that one, but it certainly fits hand and glove with this book. (I would have posted it, but couldn't find one with a decent score.)

I'm not sure if I have, but I did see Ten Nights In A Barroom, and I'm pretty sure it's in the same vein.

So I'll be reading this over the next hundred years or so and sharing some of it.

Oh come on, that's an exaggeration. I bet it won't be a day over 75.

Oh, I'll see what I can do.

[Kitty]

Here is the front. Curiously, the title isn't even on the front. Come to think of it, I have a book (1887) by Mary Livermore who was a nurse during the civil war, and the title isn't on the front, either. It has lots of beautiful full color liths of civil war flags. It's called... (get ready)

My Story of the War: A Woman's Narrative of Four Years Personal Experience as Nurse in the Union Army, and in Relief Work at Home, in Hospitals, Camps, and at the Front, during the War of the Rebellion with Anecdotes, Pathetic Incidents, and Thrilling Reminiscences Portraying The Lights and Shadows of Hospital Life and The Sanitary Service of the War. by Mary A Livermore.

I think it's mainly just called My Story of the War, but I wanted to share the full title, anyway.

But this thread is about Minnie Hermon! Maybe one day Mary Livermore will get her own.

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But the title is on the spine on this one, and it's pretty, so here it is.

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And here is the title page.

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Here's an image of the leader of the aforementioned women's movement who would harass store owners until their sensibilities were given in to.

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I think this is Minnie Herman. I have no proof, this is pure guess.

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[donnie]

Thanks for the photos. That's beautiful lettering on the cover and spine, isn't it?

Thurlow Weed Brown. That name really rings a bell, for some reason, but I can't remember where I've run across it.

[Kitty]

Well, I mentioned this book once or twice before. Maybe that's how you've heard his name. He died in 1866, and he devoted his life to the temperance movement.

[donnie]

This turned up on my phone almanac app. It seems Ben agrees with Thurlow.

[Kitty]

Interesting!!! I didn't realize he was a teetotaler.

[Kitty]

I read another chapter of this book. It describes the first meeting of Walter Brayton and Minnie Hermon in unbelievable circumstances. I'll be posting more in depth soon. For now, here is an actual photo of Walter and Minnie.

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