[VACCINATION]. &
[GILLRAY (James)].
The Cow Pock - or - the Wonderful Effects of the New Inoculation!
[VACCINATION]. &
[GILLRAY (James)].
The Cow Pock - or - the Wonderful Effects of the New Inoculation!
An (unauthorised) Irish copy of James Gillray’s print which was published by Hannah Humphrey in London in June 1802. Sidebotham pirated numerous English prints in Ireland and then exported them back to England to sell on the London market.
A fine Irish copy of Gillray’s famous print which satirises the fears surrounding Edward Jenner’s discovery of innoculation to protect against smallpox. The scene takes places in The London Smallpox and Inoculation Hospital in St. Pancras
Gillray’s print highlights how opposition to vaccination began almost as soon as Edward Jenner introduced the smallpox vaccine in 1798. Jenner discovered that inoculation with cowpox could safely protect people from the deadly smallpox virus. Jenner’s breakthrough laid the foundation for modern vaccination.
Gillray’s caricature satirises the exaggerated fears of early vaccine critics, who claimed that using cowpox could cause bizarre physical changes, such as people growing cow-like features. The patients who have received the vaccination are shown with cow protruding from different parts of their body.
