“Pains and Pleasures of a Cholera Quarantine Station.” Photograph © Bildarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz/Art Resource, NY. Reproduced with permission.

This color engraving is by an unknown German caricaturist and was printed in the early 18th century. It is entitled “Pains and Pleasures of a Cholera Quarantine Station.” Loosely translated, the text says, “So this is how it looks in this merry ‘cleaning house’; isn’t it true, it is uplifting; but indeed it is believed that the cholera has come across the border.…” The lighthearted depiction of life among the quarantined may be because the image appears to have been made prior to the worst phase of the devastating cholera epidemic that swept through Northern Europe, peaking in 1829 – 1830 (see Clin Infect Dis 2002; 34:1). A well is visible outside the doorway at the left. This is of interest, because the epidemic was spread by contaminated water; the leaves in the rafters may be tobacco, which was thought to protect against infection. The engraving belongs to the Kunstbibliothek, Staatliche Museum, Berlin. (Ann Arvin, Cover Art Editor)