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Tuberculosis Robs You, Public Health Protects You
Tuberculosis Robs You, Public Health Protects You
Contributor(s):
National Tuberculosis Association The History of Medicine Division. Prints and Photographs Collection
This illustration from the 1930s combines two powerful graphic motifs including the personification of disease as a thief and reference to the historical origins of the NTA emblem. The lurching thief, dressed in a tunic and holding a bag of leaking gold coins in his left hand and burning torch in his right hand, cowers before a knight holding a drawn sword and displaying the double-barred cross symbol from the First Crusade on his surcoat. The portrayal of disease as a thief robbing you of your health remains a common metaphor in public health imagery and in this case the noble Christian knight is the symbol of public health as protector. The caption at the bottom of the poster, "Christmas Seals finance the campaign against tuberculosis," is designed to inspire confidence in the value of the viewer's contribution.
Copyright:
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