Images Dated 17th December 2010

Plague doctor, 17th century artwork

Plague doctor. 17th century artwork titled Doktor Schnabel von Rom (Beak Doctor from Rome). The text is in Latin. The costume's bronze mask contained aromatic herbs and reduced exposure to bad air, as did gloves and an oiled undergarment and cloak. Bubonic plague (the Black Death) affected Europe from the 1340s to the 1700s, killing millions. This German artwork, by Paul Furst (1608-1666), is based on an earlier work by J. Columbina, and dates from 1656. This version is from Die Karikatur und Satire in der Medizin (Caricature and Satire in Medicine, 1921) by the German art historian and physician Eugen Hollander (1867-1932)

© SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Medical prescription, satirical artwork

Medical prescription. Satirical artwork titled Of Prescribing Foolishly, showing a patient in bed with a doctor in a fool's hat (right) holding aloft a proposed treatment. This artwork was by the German painter Albrecht Durer (1471-1528). It illustrated chapter 52 of Das Narrenschiff (Ship of Fools, 1494), a collection of morality tales of medieval vices as told by the German humanist Sebastian Brant (1457-1521). This artwork, from the 1497 Latin edition, was reproduced in the German book Die Karikatur und Satire in der Medizin (Caricature and Satire in Medicine, 1921) by the German art historian and physician Eugen Hollander (1867-1932)

© SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Going Home After School

Schoolchildren on their way home from school, with book bags strapped on their backs, after the first day of a new term in Germany circa 1930. (Photo by Keystone View/FPG/Getty Images)

© 2011 Getty Images

108432896, Carrying, Child, Elementary Student, Nostalgia, Retro Styled, Walking