©Wellcome Library, London
 
 

This poster, produced for the Children's Department of the American Red Cross in France, depicts the interior of a nursery in which 8 babies are watched by Death who opens the window from outside and reveals an industrial cityscape. The caption reminds mothers that 1 child in 8 dies before reaching its first birthday. At the time this picture was produced, infant life and child health took on a new importance. The 19th century view that excessive population led to exhaustion of resources, epidemic diseases and war, was replaced by one which emphasised the value of a healthy and numerous population as a national resource.

Coloured lithograph by Alice Dick Dumas, Paris.