Temperance, but No Maine Law
The "Gem Saloon," represented here, was housed in a hotel on the corner of Broadway and Anthony (now Worth) Street in New York, and known for containing the city's largest mirror. Mayor Fernando Wood and other notables are portrayed, and the title refers to the heated debate then raging over the regulation of alcohol. A temperance movement launched in 1850 by the mayor of Portland, Maine, resulted in a state bill that forbade all alcoholic purchases except for "medicinal, mechanical or manufacturing purposes." Several other northern states and cities followed suit, including New York, with a prohibitory liquor law of 1854 vetoed by Governor Horatio Seymour. When Myron H. Clark replaced Seymour in 1855, a new "Maine Law" was passed, but never strictly enforced.
Artwork Details
- Title: Temperance, but No Maine Law
- Artist and publisher: Augustus Fay (American, born ca. 1824, active 1840–60)
- Date: 1854
- Medium: Lithograph
- Dimensions: image: 19 x 25 3/16 in. (48.3 x 63.9 cm)
sheet: 25 1/16 x 30 13/16 in. (63.6 x 78.2 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: The Edward W. C. Arnold Collection of New York Prints, Maps and Pictures, Bequest of Edward W. C. Arnold, 1954
- Object Number: 54.90.1054
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
More Artwork
Related Content
Publications
Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.
Free to download
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.