Course of cholera in Boston in 1849
Item Information
- Title:
- Course of cholera in Boston in 1849
- Description:
-
Throughout much of the 19th century, it was widely believed that cholera and other diseases spread by way of miasma, or “bad air” emanating from decomposing organic waste. This map, first printed in a physicians’ report following the cholera outbreak of 1849, shows the origins of cases treated at the Cholera Hospital in Boston’s Fort Hill neighborhood. Situated in today’s Financial District, the Fort Hill tenements were occupied predominantly by Irish immigrants. In keeping with prevailing miasma theory and attitudes toward immigrants, the report blames the epidemic on overcrowding, poor ventilation, and the perceived intemperance and unsanitary behaviors of the victims.
- Cartographer:
- Boston (Mass.). Committee on Internal Health
- Lithographer:
- J.H. Bufford's Lith.
- Name on Item:
-
J.H. Bufford lith.
- Date:
-
[1866]
- Format:
-
Maps/Atlases
- Location:
-
Boston Public Library
Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center - Collection (local):
-
Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center Collection
- Subjects:
-
Cholera--Massachusetts--Boston--Maps
Boston (Mass.)--Maps
Cholera Hospital (Boston, Mass.)
- Places:
-
MassachusettsSuffolk (county)Boston
- Extent:
- 1 map ; 22 x 28 cm
- Terms of Use:
-
No known copyright restrictions.
No known restrictions on use.
- Publisher:
-
[Boston] :
[J.H. Eastburn, city printer]
- Scale:
-
Scale approximately 1:10,000
- Language:
-
English
- Notes:
-
Conservation of this piece was funded by an anonymous donor.
Oriented with north to the right.
From Communication from the City Physician on Asiatic cholera. City of Boston, city document no. 21. [Boston, Mass.], 1866.
"Chart, showing the locations in which all the cases of cholera at the hospital & all the fatal cases elsewhere originated."
- Notes (date):
-
This date is inferred.
- Notes (exhibitions):
-
Exhibited: "Breathing Room: Mapping Boston's Green Spaces" organized by the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library, 2018.
- Identifier:
-
06_01_016344
- Call #:
-
G3764.B6E51 1849 .B67
- Barcode:
-
39999085945804
IIIF Manifest