Travel exhibit
Aside from word-of-mouth accounts and a large box of 9-by-7-inch plaques stored in the former Alcohol Library, little remains of the portable exhibit that, according to legend, Mark Keller—and likely others—transported to speaking engagements. Created in the late 1940s, the plaques trace the history of alcohol studies through black-and-white photos, drawings, charts, and text, covering themes such as Temperance, Prohibition, research, and treatment. They reflect Keller’s wide-ranging interests, including topics he wrote about like Cruikshank’s sequential illustrations "The Bottle" and the "Drunkards' Children," or the history of the evolving field of alcohol studies.
Portrait of Benjamin Rush
This plaque from a travel exhibit depicts a portrait of Benjamin Rush in 1805 by William Haines.
A Moral and Physical Thermometer
Benjamin Rush's Moral and Physical Thermometer on a plaque was part of Mark Keller's traveling exhibit.
The Get-Sober-Quick Machine
This clipping of the Get-Sober-Quick Machine mounted on a plaque was part the exhibit. Source: "Gas apparatus revives drunks." N.Y. Evening World, February 27, 1925.
A tavern bill
The tavern bill from 1790 lists various dishes and drinks.
An inquiry into the effects of ardent spirits
The title page and first page of Dr. Benjamin Rush's Inquiry
The Victims of the Bottle
Illustration showing women and children standing outside of a liquor store, captioned "The Victims of the Bottle." From Broken fetters, the light of ages on intoxication.
The Drunkards Progress. From the First Glass to the Grave.
This black-and-white version of The Drunkards Progress. From the First Glass to the Grave, by Nathaniel Currier, from 1846, was also part of the exhibit.
Some early temperance leaders
Lincoln’s liquor license
Andrew Volstead
Alcohol in 1 cc urine
This plaque presents the various phases of intoxication from "dry and decent" to "dead drunk." Notable is the letterhead, which indicates the "Study of the effects of alcohol on the individual" with the New York Academy of Medicine address, i.e., the original, Carnegie-funded project. It explains that the stick figures feature head shots of researchers participating in the study, including E. M. Jellinek, Mark Keller, and Vera Efron.