Name/Title
A Moral & Physical Thermometer.Description
A rare and previously unrecorded illustrated broadside published in 1811, New York, drawn from Benjamin Rush’s text An inquiry into the effects of spirituous liquors on the human body. To which is added, a moral and physical thermometer…, later revised as An Inquiry Into the Effects of Ardent Spirits Upon the Human Body and Mind.
The “moral & physical thermometer” ranked refreshments, from water to rum, “with their attendant moral consequences from health, wealth and happiness to suicide, death, and the gallows. The Moral Thermometer was invented by Dr. John Coakley Lettsom of London, and promoted in America by his friend Dr. Benjamin Rush.” (LCP, Rising People p205)
The broadside’s thermometer, reveals a stark contrast: those abstaining from spirits score a robust +70, basking in excellent health, while those indulging excessively in strong liquors, registering at -70, risked afflictions such as “Murder, Madness, Despair,” and potentially a death sentence.
Printed by Samuel Wood, Francis Pell, the broadside’s listed publisher, remains a cypher, no recorded works appear under his name. One Francis Pell surfaces in historical annals entangled in a significant legal imbroglio involving the sum of $15,000 within New York City, pitted against the North American Trust and Banking Company.
This large sum suggests Pell’s affluence and the means to publish Rush’s broadside for public benefit. Alternatively, “Francis Pell” as the printer may be a pseudonym, particularly given the emergence of an anonymous and pirated edition of Rush’s pamphlet in New York in 1811, coinciding with the publication of the broadside.
Only one other broadside-format of Lettsom’s/Rush’s “moral thermometer” chart is known; it is without date or imprint, and held only by the American Antiquarian Society.
Rush, who died in 1813, characterized alcoholism in his pamphlet as an “odious disease,” impacting both physical and mental health. His pioneering work laid the foundation for subsequent endeavors aimed at addressing and alleviating the social and health-related challenges linked to alcoholism.
A previously unknown and sizable broadside, clearly intended for public display and for the greater public good.Other Names and Numbers
Other Numbers
Number Type
ReferencesOther Number
Austen 1656Condition
Overall Condition
GoodDate Examined
Dec 7, 2023Notes
Cf. Austen 1656, An inquiry into the effects of spirituous liquors on the human body. To which is added, a moral and physical thermometer… Boston, 1790. Condition Notes: The broadside was recently conserved by Frank Mowery, former paper conservator at the Folger Library in Washington, D..C. It has been mended by leafcasting and paper pulp fills, and some portions of the text have been retouched with in-filled text. Approximately ten words have partial or total loss. The broadside has been deacidified and encapsulated in Mylar with a handmade paper laid behind it.