Showing posts with label temperance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label temperance. Show all posts

Sunday, April 30, 2017

Is the Devil a Myth: Now Available!




This work is a combination of demonology and devil lore with then-modern political and social discourse. Dwelling on the titles of, powers of, and form of the Devil, Wimberley's work also touches on temperance, the evils of illusionists and mesmerists, and the spiritualist movement.

It isn't quite as dense and difficult to comprehend as some similar works of the era on this and other titles; a refreshing fact, since some manuscripts on demons delve into minutiae or linger on quasi-medical topics associated with possession. It should be noted that Wimberley was surely a rather zealous protestant and so the work reflects this fact.

123 pages.

Monday, November 7, 2016

The Omnium Gatherum: Now Available!




The Omnium Gatherum is a bizarre but interesting fortune teller. Written in the 1870s and pairing a social oracle with temperance propaganda, it is the offspring of JT Yarrington, who was an activist for this latter cause.

The social purpose is clear; get a group of people together to tell their fortunes with one another and subsequently ponder the evils of alcohol (the "grog sellers" and so forth!) It also contains a dozen testimonials from the press of its age. Indeed, the oracle can be used solo by making slips of paper for each possible answer to the questions but getting a group together really helps when your purpose is to get them talking about the evils of beer and liquor.

44 pages.