Germ City
Microbes and the Metropolis
September 14, 2018 - April 28, 2019
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A fascinating look at New York City's battle against infectious disease.
Humans and microbes have always co-habited, and their relationship has had a profound influence on human history—especially in cities, the crossroads of the movements of people, goods, and germs. Germ City: Microbes and the Metropolis explores the complex story of New York’s long battle against infectious disease—a fight involving government, urban planners, medical professionals, businesses, and activists. It reveals how our understanding of disease has changed us physically, socially, and culturally, and the surprising interplay between people and pathogens in an urban context.
This exhibition is organized by the Museum of the City of New York in collaboration with The New York Academy of Medicine and Wellcome. It is part of Wellcome’s international project Contagious Cities, which explores the interplay of people and pathogens in urban contexts. Drawing on the model of the Wellcome Collection’s “Reading Room,” Germ City features a hybrid gallery and library where visitors can view historical artifacts alongside contemporary artworks created for the exhibition, delve into the exhibition’s themes with a curated selection of books, and access a wide range of perspectives through digital interactives.
Covered ewer presented to Dr. N. Edson Sheldon by the Board of Health of New York City for “professional services gratuitously rendered to the poor of the Second Ward during the prevalence of the Cholera A.D. 1832.” Silver, made by Joseph Moseley and William Gale. Museum of the City of New York, 74.155
Jacob A. Riis, An Italian Home under a Dump, c. 1890. Museum of the City of New York, Jacob A. Riis Collection, 90.13.1.208
D. Appleton and Company, Sanitary and Social Chart of the Fourth Ward of the City of New York …, c. 1865. Museum of the City of New York, Gift of the University of Western Ontario, 37.152.8
Dr, John C. Peters, "Routes of Asiatic Cholera" map from Harper’s Weekly, April 25, 1885. Courtesy of The New York Academy of Medicine Library
New York City Health Department diphtheria pamphlets in Spanish and Yiddish, early 20th century. Courtesy of The New York Academy of Medicine Library
Fleming penicillin medallion, presented to Ruth Draper at St. Mary's Hospital in London on November 28, 1946. Courtesy of The New York Academy of Medicine Library
Blood Mirror by Jordan Eagles, 2015-present; photograph by Leo Herrera.
Book of signatures of Bronx schoolchildren immunized for diphtheria, 1933. Courtesy of The New York Academy of Medicine Library
Microscopic view of the mouse mite, ca. 1946-50. Courtesy of NIH Stetten Museum of Medical Research, National Institutes of Health, 1545-Ph
Exhibition Shop
Antibody and virus-shaped plushies, a play doctor kit for kids, books, and more!
Supporters
Germ City: Microbes and the Metropolis is made possible with lead support from Wellcome as part of Contagious Cities; and Valerie and John W. Rowe; with additional support from Johnson & Johnson; the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation; and the Honorable Keith Powers, New York City Council, District 4.
The Museum gratefully acknowledges The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s support for exhibition curator Dr. Rebecca Jacobs’s postdoctoral fellowship.
This exhibition is organized by the Museum of the City of New York in collaboration with The New York Academy of Medicine and Wellcome. It is part of Wellcome’s international project Contagious Cities, which explores the interplay of people and pathogens in urban contexts.
The Museum gratefully acknowledges the generosity of Illumina for its support of swabbing samples by Weill Cornell Medicine at Germ City educational events.
In-Depth Stories
Germ City: Epidemics throughout New York’s History
As this year's flu season begins, we reflect on the 1918 influenza pandemic and other contagious diseases the city has had to contend with.
