MANUAL OF THE CHAMPIONS OF PROHIBITION, Containing the Constitutions, Rules, &c. of the Order

Hartford, [Conn.]: Geo. L. Coburn Steam Print., 1872. 24, 33 pages. Original printed wraps. 17 x 11 cm. Chipping to wraps, title, and corners of a few other leaves, not affecting text, and a number of short, marginal tears. Spine has mostly perished, but gatherings are held by the original stitching. Wraps heavily stained, not affecting legibility. Light marginal damp stains throughout; marginal soiling in a few places. A poor, but complete copy. SECOND EDITION, so stated on the front wrap, expanded. The first edition of the previous year contained only the first part of this work (the 24-page manual). The second edition includes a new section, "Ritual" (the second grouping of 33 pages). It contains a diagram of a lodge room and descriptions of ceremonies for opening meetings, initiations, recognizing visitors, installing officers, and instituting new lodges. At the end is a cipher, being a number code for the alphabet and the common vocabulary used by the organization. In addition to the contents alluded to in the title, the manual includes the lyrics to seven odes. Several ads are printed with the text, all promoting Thomas H.L. Tallcott's diverse professional and business interests in Glastonbury and Hartford. One ad announces his services as a notary and justice of the peace, and another his land surveying firm. He also advertises patent medicines (Dickinson's Alternative Balsam and Discutient Ointment) and a washing machine (the Niagra Washer) both of which he distributed. At the end of the manual is an ad for the New England Female Medical College, Boston, and the free dispensary offered by Dr. Samuel Gregory. Thomas Hyde Lord Tallcott (1829-1907) of Glastonbury was active in the temperance movement in Connecticut from his early adulthood, belonged to several national prohibition organizations, and was one of the founders of the Prohibition Party in Connecticut (1869). He was also an attorney, justice of the peace, Congregationalist minister, and a prominent figure in the Templars. In 1849, he presented a petition to the Connecticut senate to prohibit alcohol. He was a leader in the Hartford County Temperance Society at least as early as 1852 when he issued a circular for the organization. In 1867 and 1868, he went to the Carolinas to organize lodges for the Templars. He established over a dozen lodges, most of which were for African Americans. He founded the Champions of Prohibition in 1870 and served as the first president and secretary of the organization. Ref. Austin, "Prohibition Leaders of America" (1895, p. 35). Obituary, Hartford "Daily Courant," Sept. 30, 1907 (p. 2). Fahey, "Temperance & Racism" (pp. 61-62). Rare. OCLC locates only the Virginia Tech copy of this second edition; not in NUC. Of the first edition, OCLC finds only two copies (NYP and Harvard); NUC adds the LC copy.