Edward Edmondson jr was born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1830. His many works include still lifes and landscapes, which Ohio museums proudly display. Not only was he born in Dayton, but he lived most of his life there. His work is well known in the community, winning numerous state art fair awards.1 This particular painting tells the story of 19th-century boyhood. In the 19th century, propagandist educational material warning children of the path of the drunkard, was quite rampant, and by the time it was 1861, it was not new to any soul. 

In the 1850’s, Ohio Presbyterians notoriously fought for total abstinence from all liquor. They were unable to attain state prohibition, but they did not refrain from their verbiage, with titles like “demon rum”, and anti-alcohol sentiments until later years. It became hard to keep up this alcohol sentiment as the Civil War knocked on their doorstep. Some even tried to tie anti-slavery efforts with temperance efforts to no avail.2

This painting was finished in 1861, when the Civil War officially started. Whether Edmondson was Presbyterian or not, he would have been subjected to this verbiage. Though little information is available on Dayton, both Cincinnati and Cleveland were hotspots for Christian-based ladies’ temperance societies throughout the 1800s.3 In Dayton, there was a small diaspora of Jewish immigrants in the 1850s. Some Jewish immigrants, who had experience from their work in Poland, opened successful liquor-selling establishments.4 There is little information on if this was a point of contention with Christians in the area, as many had such harsh abstinence ideologies.

Edmonsdon painted this at a time of great hatred for alcohol. Growing up with pro-temperance propaganda and stories, this picture puts those words to action. Telling the story of a father who drinks and a son who reaps the consequences. Little is known about his own relationship with his father besides his work as a tanner and Edmondson's choice not to follow in his footsteps.5 This painting does bring up the question of education. Based on the organization, it is titled differently, interchanging “Lesson” and “Lecture,” and they each have an educational purpose. So, who is learning what? A son learning the path that alcohol leads you, the only lecture or lesson his father may pass on to him. In contemporary use, it is still a tool for practicing pedagogical practices with museum guides. The Dayton Museum uses its vocal and visceral depiction for exercises mixing acting and museum docentry. The docents repeatedly vocalized the question “why?” as a response to the boy's position.6

Edward Edmonson Jr. painted a clear and harsh narrative of a young boy whose default educator, compass, and guardian in the world is unable to be due to his unflinching focus on this jug of alcohol. His lack of care and attention to his child while his son waits for his support is displayed as a result of indulgence and lack of temperance. Painted in a time of pro-abstinence support, this painting pulls at the heartstrings of any parent. The absence of motherhood allows for a show of reliance on the father that is typically unseen.