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Alliance

Alliance needle case
Needle Case


Patent #1473


Patent #1322

Design Details

Needle Case Type:

Flat-Names

Patent/Registered to:

William Avery - Redditch Manufacturer

Patent/Design Representation #:

Mechanical Patent #: Double version of 1473 (Fig. 9a) and/or 1322 (Fig. 1)

Patent/Design Registration Date:

May 21, 1870 and May 16, 1871

Location of Patent/Design Registration:

British Library - Business and Intellectual Property Centre - London

Reference #:

1870-1473 and 1871-1322

Dimensions:

4.5 x 5.7

Material:

Brass

Name Variations:

a) W. Avery & Son - Redditch
b) Baggallays, Westall & Spence - London
c) S. Thomas & Sons - Redditch

Other Variations:

None

Additional Photographs

Back closed and open (photographs courtesy of Bunny's Place)

Front name and Baggallays signature detail (photographs courtesy of Bunny's Place)

With Thomas signature detail (photograph courtesy of Brenda Archibald)

Facts

The Alliance or to use its full name the United Kingdom Alliance for the Suppression of the Traffic in all Intoxicating Liquors, was set up in 1853 by social reformers with the aim of engendering and mobilising social pressure to achieve legislative abolition of the alcohol business.  This prohibitionist stance was in contrast with the views of the temperance movement which encouraged self-denial and self-control as the means to counter the social ills of alcohol consumption.  The Alliance failed in its objectives largely due to their unwillingness to compromise with less hard line reformers and through ineffective tactics as a political pressure organization.  Sir Wilfred Lawson, who served as the president of the Alliance from 1879 until his death in 1906, was a Liberal Party member of the House of Commons and was an advocate initially of the temperance movement then the prohibitionists.  Click on the picture below to see a larger version of it.

aaliance facts

History

The temperance movement arose in the 1830s when excessive drinking in the working class was seen as problematic.  With industrialization there was a need for a reliable sober work force. Heavy drinking and the drinking of spirits were discouraged.  Beer had a traditional and important role in the diet of lower class at a time when water supplies were unsafe and the aim of temperance was to control drinking rather than outlaw it.  Of particular concern was the rise in gin drinking in the newly emerging gin palaces in London.  Poor working and living conditions are thought to have contributed to the rise in alcohol consumption and measures to steer away from gin towards beer which was considered less intoxicating didn’t prove effective.  Teetotal ism was the next phase in the fight whereby men were encouraged to take a pledge to abstain from all alcoholic beverages.  This originated from working class men and was linked with the Chartist cause and seen as a way to demonstrate that working class men were responsible enough to be given the right to vote.  This was also in accord with prevailing Victorian values of thrift and self-help.  The middle classes however were not enthusiastic about this approach as they were less inclined to forego their wine porter or brandy and support for temperance declined.  The teetotal movement in time realised that they would not succeed in convincing Victorians on the evils of alcohol.  The fight was taken up anew when the Alliance was founded inspired by the success of the US State of Maine in passing prohibition laws.  This approach to take choice away from the individual on the grounds of social good provoked much political and intellectual debate.  Many attempts were made to convince the working class of the moral, health and religious arguments to support prohibition citing reduction of social problems like pauperism and crime, and improved financial and social status but to no avail.  Even the once supportive Church of England was unimpressed if communion wine was to be included.  Click on the picture below to see a larger version of it.

aaliance facts

Miscellaneous

Sir Wilfred Lawson, the chief public spokesman for the Alliance, sat in the House of Commons representing three different constituencies during different periods in the years 1859 – 1906.  He was a strong proponent of radical reform with interests in the peace movement, temperance, and anti-imperialism.  He was a popular political figure recognised as a masterful orator.  His speeches were characterised by his humour and wit as well as precise, logical and well-reasoned argument.  His views were almost always those of the minority but he was nothing if not persistent in the pursuance of his causes.

misc

Note: Right side panel text and photos provided by Lynda Herrod.