bioephemera is art + biology - everything from representations of science in art and literature to the neuroscience of aesthetics. 
Vintage public health posters like this one are remarkable not only for their skilled design, but also for the varied ways they remain remarkably timely or seem bizarrely dated.
For example, compare the playful-yet-kinda-creepy "keep your teeth clean" poster above, as opposed to the very different meaning of "clean" in the anti-VD poster below. I think alarmist STD posters like this one and its contemporaries would have some difficulty getting approved today.
The National Library of Medicine has many more vintage posters here - or visit this Newsweek gallery for a quick tour.
Medicine & Health
Comments
Beware the 'Good Time Girls'...
Think these posters were effective at stopping the spread of VDs to beat the Axis?
Posted by: Sheril | July 21, 2008 2:13 PM
From the Immunization poster page of the National Library of Medicine Visual Culture web site, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/visualculture/immunization.html
one learns under one Polio poster: "In 2002, Mexico had a 96 percent vaccination rate for children ages 1 to 4, compared with an immunization rate of 79 percent for 2-year-olds in the United States."
Is it the Anti-Vaxxers or the cost, which makes compliance in the U.S. so low?
(The next poster, 'Stop Measles with just one shot'
"tells the viewer that it only takes one free shot to prevent measles." But I remember the shots not being free; even with my BCBS plan, there was always a big copayment, ~$100., for every shot my children got [and the insurance's contribution mostly a rebate on the excessive price billed by the clinic, rather than actual payment.] But I assume there are clinics offering immunizations at low cost or for free.)
Posted by: A | July 21, 2008 4:24 PM
In Band of Brothers, Bill "Gonorrhoeae" Guanere had a rough go of fighting the Germans during his bout of the clap. Funnily enough, the nickname came from the similarity of his last name to the STD, not the fact that he eventually came down with it.
Posted by: TomJoe | July 21, 2008 5:16 PM
I wonder who VD works for now that the Axis powers are long gone. Al Quaeda? Iran? Venezuela? Microsoft?
I'm guessing that, as I write this, an army of syphilis-laden Good Time Girls is being smuggled across our borders with the sole purpose of destroying Freedom from the inside out.
Actually, I think 'Juke Joint Snipers' is my new favorite imaginary band.
Posted by: michael | July 21, 2008 7:49 PM
Sheril: Given the limited efficacy of PSAs today, I doubt it. :)
A: I think the lack of Polio vaccinations has to do with waning diligence as a child ages, plus a lack of awareness among new parents of exactly how bad Polio is. It will be most unfortunate if any of the horrific childhood diseases virtually eradicated in the US by vaccination return on a national scale due to large populations of unvaccinated children. The anti-vaccination cohort appears not to understand this issue.
michael: VD is working for the Axis of Evil, right? ;)
Posted by: Jessica Palmer | July 23, 2008 1:12 PM
During WWII, the "She may look clean - but," poster was pinned and remained on our ship's, USS LCI (G) 64, bulletin board, for the entire time I served aboard her, 1944/5. We absolutely refused to believe so beautiful a girl could be representitive of VD. JD Robertson.
Posted by: James D Robertson | August 13, 2009 11:10 AM
What a great story, JD! I guess that poster may have backfired. . . :)
Posted by: Jessica Palmer
| August 13, 2009 11:37 AM
I have an interesting approach to WWII and VD in the form of a picture that might interest you but I don't know how to attach it - could you help me? JD Robertson
Posted by: James D Robertson | October 30, 2009 10:39 AM
Hi JD, you can only attach photos in comments if you have them hosted on webspace elsewhere. You can always email it to me if you don't have the photo online. :)
Posted by: Jessica Palmer
| October 30, 2009 12:30 PM