"The Bottle" Dinner Plates
"The Bottle" dinner plates display scenes promoting temperance copied from well-known cartoons created in 1847 by British caricaturist George Cruikshank. The temperance movement advocated abstinence from alcohol and viewed the beverage as responsible for the destruction of families. These dishes trace the story of a husband's decision to entice his wife to drink just one drop to the eventual ruin of his entire family. The final scene sums up the impact of drunkenness on society: "THE BOTTLE HAS DONE ITS WORK IT HAS DESTROYED THE INFANT AND MOTHER AND BROUGHT THE SON AND DAUGHTER TO VICE AND LEFT THE FATHER A HOPELESS MANIAC."