This large piece by Sampson Smith of London, England is more often seen uncolored. This is the rarer, beautifully colored version. The piece is 4.5” deep by 9-1/8” wide by 11-1/8” tall. Depicted are a man with an open book on a podium that has raised initials on its front “I.O.G.T.” The man is flanked by two ladies in period dress. From the reverse, the three are shown seated in ladder-back style chairs. The initials stand for Independent Order Of Good Templars. The order was founded in Utica, New York in 1850 as a secret fraternal temperance group. The group used Masonic-like regalia such as collars and aprons. They claimed superiority to the group Sons of Temperance (see previous item) because they were not engaged in the business of offering insurance and because women were admitted to the order on an equal basis. There are tiny and normal craze lines in the glaze but only a couple tiny dots of missing black paint on the man’s tie and the womens’ shoes. There are no chips or cracks. An outstanding early figural piece for the temperance movement and in N. Mint condition. See 1892 Prohibition Candidates Posters #173.