Needles in medical history : an exhibition at the Wellcome Trust History of Medicine Gallery, April 1998 / Ken Arnold [and others].

Date:
[1998?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: Needles in medical history : an exhibition at the Wellcome Trust History of Medicine Gallery, April 1998 / Ken Arnold [and others]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    A.l Poster showing the head of a laughing baby, threatened by a dangerous shadowy hand representing diphtheria. Colour lithograph after Reginald Mount. The legend reads Diphtheria is deadly. Protect your child by immunization. Ask at your local council offices, school or welfare centre. Iconographic Collections - cat. no. 22657 A.2 Poster of a girl walking with crutches and leg-braces in the shadow of polio. Colour lithograph after Reginald Mount. [Illustrated] The legend reads Polio. If you are not already protected see your doctor or clinic now. Iconographic Collections - cat. no. 22659 A.3 Poster with the word 'polio'. Colour lithograph after Eileen Evans. The legend reads Polio can cripple even the fittest. Vaccination is available free to all up to age 40. Ask your local health department, clinic or family doctor for details. Iconographic Collections - cat. no. 22658 A.4 '30 minutes of your time, a lifetime to somebody else: blood donors now'. Blood donation campaign poster by Abram Games. 1951 CMAC-GC/107/1 Film clips Most of us prefer not to watch when it comes to having a jab, even if someone else is the Victim'. There is something about the sharpness of the needle and the puncturing of the skin that invariably induces a shudder. It is this reaction and the desire to look away which make injections such a compelling subject in film. This compilation portrays the use of the needle in a variety of contexts. The Trainspotting camera treats it sensuously, lingering over a syringe full of heroin, whilst in the clip from Coping with Diabetes we see a more practical viewpoint. In the early campaign film for diphtheria vaccination, a girl beams into the camera, having us believe that she is delighted with the injection she is receiving. But, be warned, these clips are not for the squeamish. In addition to these clips, the exhibition also presents in its entirety the short documentary Small Objects of Desire — The Syringe (1993) - an imaginative portrait of the uses and abuses of the syringe (courtesy of BBC Worldwide Ltd).