Drink Maps in Victorian Britain

£23.80

What is a ‘drink map’? It may sound like a pub guide, yet it actually refers to a type of late nineteenth-century British map designed specifically to shock and shame people into drinking less. This book explores how drink maps of particular cities were published in an attempt to fight increasingly rampant alcohol consumption, from Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield to Oxford, London and Norwich. Featuring red symbols to indicate where alcohol was sold, these special street maps were posted prominently in public places, submitted as evidence, sent to Members of Parliament and published in newspapers to show just how inebriated a neighbourhood could be. They promoted the message that having fewer places to buy alcohol was the answer to reducing widespread crime, poverty and sickness. And they worked – at first. After consulting a drink map in one town, judges decided to close half the licensed shops because even then no one had to walk more than two minutes to buy a beer. Illustrated with original maps, advertisements and temperance propaganda, the story of their brief history is told amidst a tangle of licensing laws, rogue magistrates, irate brewers, ardent temperance organizers and accounts of the complex role alcohol played across all levels of Victorian society.

Read more

Buy product
EAN: 2000000388878 SKU: 54D298A4 Category:

Additional information

Publisher

Bodleian Library (9 May 2024)

Language

English

Hardcover

208 pages

ISBN-10

1851245782

ISBN-13

978-1851245789

Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Main Menu

Drink Maps in Victorian Britain