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Public Health

Among the most valuable medical ephemera of all are the broadsides that were posted by municipal authorities during the Renaissance to warn of epidemics of plague, cholera and smallpox; contemporary examples echo their stringent warnings. Cardboard signs of various sizes and varied colors for mumps, meningitis, scarlet fever, diphtheria, etc. were placed in windows of residences where patients were quarantined. In some areas smaller postcards performed the same function. Booklets for March of Dimes campaigns to raise funds for research in infantile paralysis (polio is a more recent coinage) in the 1930's provided space for either dimes or bills to be inserted; such ephemera is a happy reminder that such evils have been eradicated. But other problems remain, and there is a continuous barrage of soon-to-be ephemera issuing forth from government bodies and private groups, calling attention to the hazards of smoking, excessive drinking, sexually transmitted diseases, warning signs for cancer and other public health problems.