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As the world shut down for the worst pandemic in a century, I soothed myself by looking at photos of the previous one (I know, I know, but that’s who I am). The 1918 Flu Pandemic was, by all accounts (at least to date), far more virulent than COVID-19, for myriad reasons.

The images of the 1918 pandemic surprised me because even though I consider myself an obsessive viewer of vintage photography, I had never noticed the masks. Just like today, there were, in fact, city-wide ordinances requiring face coverings. And just like today, not everyone was convinced they needed to comply.

As I walk around these days, breathing my own stale breath, I think about those photos, eerie in black and white with a classic cinema horror-movie feel. And as I do with everything else I think about, I drew them.

If you want to buy one of these original pieces or a print, I will donate the proceeds to the SF-Marin Food Bank, which has mobilized to continue to provide some of the Bay Area’s most vulnerable with support during the pandemic. Please contact me through www.americanchickens.com to inquire.

— Lisa Brown

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Dublin, California

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Locust Avenue, Mill Valley, California

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London, United Kingdom
(Note the little cup masks)

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Actually, this one was from 1913, I’m not sure where it was taken.
Merely some strange veiled fashion-choices, I guess.

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Seattle, Washington

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Starke, Florida

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Conductorettes! New York, New York

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Left: Penelope and Tommy; right: Mrs. Shaw and Golly
Seattle, Washington