Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Prohibition

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.0060.S01.01.Prohibition
Creators:
Warshaw, Isadore, 1900-1969
Dates:
1855-1930
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.96 Cubic feet
consisting of 2 boxes, 1 folder, 2 oversize folders.
Repository:
A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Prohibition forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Subseries 1.1: Subject Categories. The Subject Categories subseries is divided into 470 subject categories based on those created by Mr. Warshaw. These subject categories include topical subjects, types or forms of material, people, organizations, historical events, and other categories. An overview to the entire Warshaw collection is available here: Warshaw Collection of Business Americana

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This subject category consists primarily of materials relating to the consumption of liquor before, and during, Prohibition. The bulk of the collection consists of filled prescriptions for liquor and other controlled substances during Prohibition. Also included in this category are various administrative forms related to the sale or distribution of controlled substances; broadsheets, pamphlets and other publications advocating or opposing alcohol prohibition. The span dates for the series are 1855-1930, but the bulk of the material dates from 1922-1930.
Prescription Materials consists of prescription forms for alcohol and other controlled substances filled by the Barbric Pharmacy in Albany, New York during Prohibition. Most of the series is made of government-issued prescription forms produced in accordance with the National Prohibition Act. Others are "emergency" prescriptions written on pharmacy stationery. The dates of the series are 1922-1930. Forms are in rough chronological order, by month and year.
Prohibition Administration consists of administrative materials related to governmental oversight of the sale and distribution of controlled substances. It includes a book of NewYork State Department of Health narcotic order forms, a US Internal Revenue Opium order book, and a set of correspondence related to bureaucratic approval of prescriptions for alcohol and other substances. This materials date from the late 1920s. They are in alphabetical order by issuing office.
Civic Organizations includes publications created by civic organizations and other groups advocating for or against the prohibition of the sale of alcohol. The material includes publications, broadsides, form letters to be sent to Congress, and other related items. Groups featured include the Pennsylvania Anti-Saloon League, the Prohibition Party, and the New York Hotel Association, among others. The series's span dates are 1855-1918, with the bulk dates being 1904-1918, and it is in alphabetical order by organization.

Administration

Author
Vanessa Broussard-Simmons and Nicole Blechynden
Sponsor
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
Prohibition is a portion of the Business Ephemera Series of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Accession AC0060 purchased from Isadore Warshaw in 1967. Warshaw continued to accumulate similar material until his death, which was donated in 1971 by his widow, Augusta. For a period after acquisition, related materials from other sources (of mixed provenance) were added to the collection so there may be content produced or published after Warshaw's death in 1969. This practice has since ceased.
Processing Information
In 2016, with funding provided by the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund, the Archives Center at the National Museum of American History implemented the use of minimal level processing standards to increase information about and facilitate access to more of our collections. A large portion of stored material from the original acquisition received minimal level processing, which resulted in additions to this Subject category. This effort included basic arrangement and replacement of non-archival housing for long-term stability, but staples and other fasteners have not all been removed. Revisions to the encoded finding aid were made to reflect the added content in context to the previously processed material.
Minimal level processing and enhancement of the machine-readable finding aid completed by Nicole Blechynden, September 2017.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access note
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Preferred Citation note
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Prohibition, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Conditions Governing Use note
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Materials in the Archives Center

Materials in the Archives Center
Archives Center Collection of Business Americana (AC0404)

Forms Part Of


Archives Center, National Museum of American History
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