The Inside of Prohibition

Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1929. First Edition. First Printing. Octavo (20.5cm); evergreen cloth, with titles stamped in gilt on spine and front cover; dustjacket; [iv],[8],9-347,[1]pp. Small, faint dampstain to upper left corner of rear cover, else a fresh, very Near Fine copy. Dustjacket is price-clipped, showing light wear, mild dust-soil, a few small tears and creases, and a corresponding faint dampstain to upper rear flap fold; Very Good+. Lengthy volume by the former assistant attorney general for the Justice Department, responsible for enforcing the Volstead Act from 1921-1929. "She worked closely with both the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League to build public support for the federal efforts. She also used liquor prosecutions to generate headlines. A number of times, Willebrandt sat in the courtroom while one of her assistants pressed a case. Since women government lawyers were quite a novelty in the 1920s, her actions generated press coverage. Similarly, she focused much of her action on corruption cases that grew out of the violation of prohibition, again headline grabbers. She did not seek press notice gratuitously, but as a part of a Justice Department campaign to showcase prohibition enforcement activity and to make a case to the public for cleaner government. Willebrandt published, first in syndicated newspaper column form and then as a book (The Inside of Prohibition), her vision for effective prohibition law enforcement. She called for clean government, greater coordination between national and local officials, and especially for common people to take responsibility for seeing the laws enforced" (Badr, Jehad and Mark Weir. "Prohibition's Portia: Mabel Walker Willebrandt." albany.edu). An attractive copy, uncommon in commerce.