The National Tuberculosis Association used proceeds from Christmas Seal campaigns to develop educational posters that emphasized both prevention and control. This 1930s poster uses a common technique in public health posters involving the juxtaposition of text and image to create a message that works against viewer expectations. In this poster, the viewer may come to the image with the expectation that it is an advertisement for an exercise program or vitamin supplement, only to learn, by reading the text in the image, that it is a warning that you can look healthy but still have tuberculosis. The image of the healthy man is accompanied by an illustration of how an X-ray machine can be used to identify TB long before symptoms appear. By fostering faith in the value of science and preventive technologies, this technique also confirms the value of the Christmas Seals campaign in supporting additional research.
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