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Ads & Posters

 
A man holds a handkerchief to his face.  The poster reads “Prevent Disease.  Careless Spitting, Coughing, Sneezing Spread Influenza and Tuberculosis.” A black and white poster.  The poster recommends that those suffering from coughing and sneezing should not enter the theater.  The poster was created by the Chicago Department of Health.  To the right of the image, two men confront one another. On the left, the text reads “Douglas Fairbanks in His Picture in the Papers. Released by S.A. Lynch Enterprises. Coming. 1918.”
By educating people on how influenza could spread, public health officials hoped to help people avoid it. [Credit: National Library of Medicine] Local health departments warned those who were ill to stay away from theaters and other public places. [Credit: Office of the Public Health Service Historian] To the right of the image, two men confront one another. On the left, the text reads “Douglas Fairbanks in His Picture in the Papers. Released by S.A. Lynch Enterprises. Coming. 1918.” .[Credit: The Library of Congress]
  
 
A black and white ad for Ka-Tar-No.  The drug promises to cure catarrh and all catarrhal disease.    Color poster reads “Healthy Girls Get More Fun Out Of Life” featuring a young girl playing tennis. A poster with several head shots of older Americans asks “Should You Get Your Flu Shot?”  The answer---“Yes”---is provided.  
Drug advertisers routinely promised quick and painless cures. [Credit: National Library of Medicine] Some public health campaigns, especially those dealing with sexuality, were segregated according to gender. [Credit: Office of the Public Health Service Historian] As memories of the 1918-1919 pandemic have faded, Americans have forgotten that influenza can be dangerous. This poster, from the 1960s, reminds Americans to get their flu shot. [Credit: National Library of Medicine]
  
 
An image of a theater playbill for Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court,  with an advertisement for Stetson Hats on the back.     A color poster of a Red Cross nurse holding a young infant while a little girl stands at her side. The poster reads “The America of Tomorrow.  The Red Cross fosters community health. A poster features marching skeletons carrying banners.  The banners read “Pneumonia,” “Cancer”, and “Heart Disease.”  Below this image a caption reads “Among the Men of Death Pneumonia Ranks Third.”
c1916. An advertising bill for the Pickwick Theater believed to have been located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. At the height of the pandemic, theaters, schools, and other public gathering places were closed down indefinitely. [Credit: The Library of Congress] In Oregon, Red Cross volunteers played an especially crucial in providing both care for patients as well as supplies to treat those who were ill. [Credit: The Library of Congress] Public health posters reminded Americans about the dangers of the nation’s three biggest killers. [Credit: Office of the Public Health Service Historian]
  
 
A poster for the Red Cross showing a public health nurse on horseback.  The poster reads “The Public Health Nurse.  She answers humanity’s call.  Your Red Cross membership makes her work possible.”  
Public health nurses often traveled great distances to reach patients. [Credit: National Library of Medicine] 

Quarantine signs such as this one warned visitors away from homes with scarlet fever and other infectious diseases. [Credit: National Library of Medicine]

 

Traditional remedies for colds and coughs remained popular remedies. [Credit: National Library of Medicine]

  
 
A color recruiting poster.  A young sailor strides across the poster.  A ship is in the background.  The image reads "A womderful opportunity for you.  US Navy.  Inquire at recruiting station." A color recruiting poster.  A young sailor strides across the poster.  A ship is in the background.  The image reads "A womderful opportunity for you.  US Navy.  Inquire at recruiting station."  
World War 1 recruiting poster. World War I Recruiting Poster.  
   
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