Gilt brass, 23.9mm diameter.  PROF ANDRE'S + ALPINE CHOIR +  His bust left.  R.  MATRIMONIAL SOCIETY above and below  NO TIPPLER NEED APPLY.  TB3 1116.  Pierced as issued, otherwise Good Very Fine with much original lustre. Strongly struck, all reverse legend sharp. The nicest one of these I have seen.
Ex David Rogers collection.

Carl M. Andre, professor of music in St. Gallen, Switzerland, organized Prof. Andre's Swiss Alpine Choir about 1880, starring singers Mary E. Williams, Pollie Handley, Lily Marshall, Anna Lammer and Rebecca Brooks. Their tour of Great Britain in 1881 was organised by the British Association for the Promotion of Temperance. The Temperance movement was dedicated to encouraging moderation and fiscal prudence, particularly among the poor, and one of the pillars of its programme was the abstention from alcohol.

Peter Crummett, The Temperance Movement and its Medals & Badges notes that research has concluded that no actual society ever existed and suggests that the tokens were distributed as a humorous gesture during the choir’s performances, when it toured England and Wales between 1881-89, appearing at many Temperance fetes and missions.