
‘A cholera patient experimenting with remedies’, coloured etching by Isaac Robert Cruikshank, c.1832 © Wellcome Collection. Isaac Robert Cruikshank (1789-1856), known as Robert Cruikshank was the older brother of caricaturist and illustrator, George Cruikshank.
Transcript:
ROBERT BRUIKSHANK’S
RANDOM SHOT. — (No. 2.)
Text on bottle:
Emetic
Text on red label attached to bottle:
The dose to be repeated
Text on blue box:
Blue Pills
Text on table:
BOARD of HEALTH
Text on stool:
STARVATION
Text on bird skeleton:
Fee Fo Fum
« Return to Coping with Cholera
Optional Starter Activity:
- How does the artist suggest the patient’s fear of the illness?
- What cholera treatments can be seen in this cartoon?
- Do you know why they were used?
- What does this reveal about the scientific understanding of the causes of the disease?
- Describe the starvation stool, can you explain why it is shown in the cartoon?
- What points is the artist making in this cartoon, in the image and title about:
- Treatments for cholera
- The Board of Health