Faces Along the Bar Lore and Order in the Workingman's Saloon, 1870-1920
- Binding: Hardcover
- Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr
- Publish date: 06/01/1998
Powers examines the lives of saloon-goers across America, including those in major cities such as New York, Chicago, New Orleans, and San Francisco as well as smaller cities such as Sioux City, Shoshone, and Oakland. Her investigation offers a fascinating look at the rich lore of the barroom -- its many games, stories, songs, free lunch customs, and especially its elaborate system of drinking rituals that have been passed on for decades. She shows how urban workers used saloons as a place to promote their political, social, and economic objectives; saloons were where union leaders first organized their members, machine politicians cultivated the workingman's vote, and immigrants sought the assistance of their countrymen. Powers also discusses how gender, ethnicity, and class played significant roles in determining club membership.
Powers concludes that an underlying code of reciprocity and peer group honor in saloon life unified the regulars and transformed them into a voluntary association. Thus, amid the fumes of beer and cigars, the regulars were able to cultivate the dualbenefits of communal companionship and marketplace clout. making the old-time saloon one of the most versatile, ubiquitous, and controversial institutions in American history.