Protect the Public from Disease Use your Handkerchief When You Sneeze
From Our Collections 20th Century Posters
Item Info
Source: Print and Picture Collection
Notes:
This World War I-era poster--courtesy of the New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor (N.Y.A.I.C.P)--was posted around Philadelphia, to advise the public to use their handkerchiefs to prevent the spread of tuberculosis, which, until the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919, was the dominant chronic infectious disease of the early 1900s. As effective treatment for infectious diseases eluded doctors, public health campaigns focused on preventing the spread of illness, by urging people to practice good public hygiene.
[Note: The formerly-named Pennsylvania Building, referrerd to at the bottom right of the poster, was originally built in 1903 as an office building, located at 15th & Chestnut Sts. It is now an apartment building.]
Country: Country:United States
Region/County:Philadelphia
City/Town/Township:Philadelphia
State/Province:Pennsylvania
Creator Name: Philadelphia Committee of the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Tuberculosis - Publisher
New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor (N.Y.A.I.C.P)