Hard Liquor and Dutch Blue Buttons

via Made-By

In 1842, In the Dutch city of Leiden, the Association for the Abolishment of Hard Liquor (Vereniging tot Afschaffing van Sterke Drank) was founded - their principle aim being the prevention of excessive gin consumption amongst workers. Members of the association could be identified by wearing a blue button made from a small wooden ring entwined with blue yarn. It took 50 years for the Dutch federation of teetotallers to see the light, with the association being disbanded - no samples of the buttons seemed to have survived, which seems a shame! 

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