Hastings, Horace Lorenzo
Horace Lorenzo Hastings (November 23 1831 - October 21, 1899) was an American preacher, hymn writer and publisher. Publishing as the Scriptural Tract Repository, Hastings produced an array of moral and religious tracts for over fifty years. His 'The Inspiration of the Bible, or, Will the Old Book Stand?' Was printed in nearly three million copies and translated into eighteen languages. His oeuvre includes more than a hundred hymns.
Rare Temperance Broadside Depicting the Transformative Powers of Alcohol
The Down Hill Road.
$750.00
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This is a rare 1878 Temperance (anti-alcohol) broadsheet, published by a Horace L. Hastings, a prolific Boston tract publisher and hymn composer. The captioned photoengraved vignettes that make up the broadside tell three discrete tales, all testifying to the destructive effect of alcohol consumption. The four corners of the sheet are dedicated to portraits of one man over the course of a drinking life. ‘A NICE YOUNG MAN’ in the upper left becomes ‘A FAST YOUNG MAN’ in the upper right, his hair grown longer and less neat, a cigarette appearing in his sneering mouth, his gaze indirect. He then transforms into ‘A SOT’ as depicted in the lower left, having developed a bulbous nose, a pipe habit, and an inability to care for hats. The lower right corner shows our hero’s final stage, ‘A BLOT,’ whose carelessness extends to the rest of his wardrobe. Presumably he can no longer afford tobacco, for his pipe is unlit and upside down. (more details)