2 minute read
If These Walls Could Talk
from The 1919 - May 2020 - UClubSB
by uclubsb
While we should not draw too many parallels between coronavirus and the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, it is interesting to see that the actions taken by governments and individuals to prevent the spread of infection were not all that dissimilar.
These surprisingly relevant vintage ads show how officials tried to convince people to social distance and wear masks after many refused during the 1918 flu pandemic:
A newspaper clipping from 1919, Edmonton Bulletin
A poster distributed by Rennsselaer County Tuberculosis Association in New York in 1918.
The Sunday Oregonian, Portland, January 1918
A poster distributed by the US Public Health Service in 1918.
During the 1918 flu pandemic, some cities in the US made mask-wearing mandatory in public. Photos from the time show people going about their business with the lower halves of their faces covered by masks fashioned out of gauze, the material of choice (and availablility) at the time:
A telephone operator with protective gauze, Getty Images
A traffic cop dons a gauze mask while directing vehicles in a New York City street. Credit: U.S. National Archives
In Seattle, Washington, conductors would not permit passengers who weren’t wearing masks to ride the street cars. Credit: U.S. National Archives
New York City conductors wear masks. Credit: U.S. National Archives
A New York city street sweeper wears a mask to help check the spread of the influenza epidemic, October 1918. In the view of one official of the New York Health Board, it was ‘Better be ridiculous, than dead’. (Photo by PhotoQuest/Getty Images)
A letter carrier in New York City. Credit: U.S. National Archives
Police Court Officials of San Francisco hold a session in the open air, as a precaution against the spreading influenza. Credit: U.S. National Archives
