Woman's Temperance Publishing Association
| Industry | Temperance publication |
|---|---|
| Founded | Indianapolis, Indiana (1879) |
| Founder | Matilda Carse |
| Headquarters | Illinois, USA |
Area served | North America |
The Woman's Temperance Publishing Association (WTPA) was a non-commercial[1] publisher of temperance literature. Established in 1879 in Indianapolis, Indiana during the national convention of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), it was a concept of Matilda Carse, an Irish-born American businesswoman, social reformer and leader of the temperance movement.[2]
Its weekly newspaper was named The Signal and its first issue appeared January 4, 1880; it was 16 pages in size.[3] The first editor was Mary Willard, mother of Frances Willard, the second president of the WCTU. At the end of the first year, there were 3,200 subscriptions. Eventually, readership reached over 90,000 subscribers.[2] It employed 135 people.[3] "Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth" was the newspaper's motto.
In 1882, The Signal merged with Our Union of New York to become The Union Signal. In addition to the newspaper, the WTPA published article reprints called "Timely Talks". After consolidating its "Illinois Workers' Leaflets", "National Leaflets" covered instruction in departmental work.[2] The Oak and Ivy Leaf was written for young women, The Young Crusader was for children, and there were also several books.[4] The Band of Hope Lesson Manual was published as a quarterly.[5]
The WTPA was designed as a joint-stock company and operated in Illinois. No man could own its stock,[3] as it could only be sold to WCTU women.[2] It began with $5,000 of capital stock, which increased to $125,000. The Board of Directors consisted of seven women, including Carse. The WTPA was dissolved in 1903.[6]
References
- ↑ Frick, John W. (2003). Theatre, culture and temperance reform in nineteenth-century America. Cambridge studies in American theatre and drama. 17. Cambridge University Press. p. 161. ISBN 0-521-81778-1.
- 1 2 3 4 Avery, Rachel Foster; National Council of Women of the United States (February 22–25, 1891). Transactions of the National Council of Women of the United States. Volume 99 of Women and the church in America (Digitized Oct 18, 2005 ed.). Washington, D.C.: J.B. Lippincott. pp. 160–165. Cite uses deprecated parameter
|coauthors=(help) - 1 2 3 Willard, Frances Elizabeth; Mary Ashton Rice Livermore (1893). A woman of the century: fourteen hundred-seventy biographical sketches accompanied by portraits of leading American women in all walks of life (Digitized Jul 7, 2007 ed.). Moulton. p. 155.
- ↑ Farmer, Lydia Hoyt (1893). The National exposition souvenir: What America owes to women (Digitized Jun 19, 2008 ed.). C. W. Moulton. pp. 352–353.
- ↑ Digitized Sep 9, 2009, ed. (1886). One hundred years of temperance: A memorial volume of the Centennial Temperance Conference held in Philadelphia, Pa., September, 1885. National Temperance Society and Publication House. p. 267.
- ↑ Gordon, Elizabeth Putnam (2005). Women Torch-Bearers: The Story of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (2 ed.). Kessinger Publishing. p. 257. ISBN 1-4179-0490-9.