The enemy is syphilis Enlist employees in a campaign against it. – Historic Poster Reproduction
(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
A window into the past: The enemy is syphilis Enlist employees in a campaign against it., preserved in this vintage poster. It comes from the collections of the Library of Congress, scanned from the original and carefully restored.
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The enemy is syphilis Enlist employees in a campaign against it.
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Rather than speaking to patients directly, this silkscreen poster addresses employers and their workers, asking businesses to join a campaign against syphilis. Made under the Illinois branch of the Works Progress Administration's art project in Chicago, it probably dates from the late 1930s, and a date stamp on the back shows it was in circulation by March 1940. Syphilis was a serious public health concern at the time, and health departments often reached working people through their jobs. Silkscreen allowed WPA artists to print posters in quantity at low cost, which suited a message meant to reach many workplaces.
| Created / published | 1936 |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 print on board (poster) : silkscreen color. |
| Notes | Work Projects Administration Poster Collection (Library of Congress). Date stamped on verso: Mar 27 1940. Posters of the WPA / Christopher DeNoon. Los Angeles: Wheatly Press c1987 no. 203 · Federal Art Project sponsor. |
| Subjects | Health care--Illinois--Chicago--1930-1940. Syphilis--Illinois--Chicago--1930-1940. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Work Projects Administration Poster Collection |
| Original scan | 991 × 1,536 px · prints to 3 × 5 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | 642_The_enemy_is_syphilis_E_1936 |
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