Coloured woodcut after a drawing by the French artist Honor矇 Daumier (1808-1879), one of a series he made of everyday life in Paris. This depicts a street scene during the cholera epidemic of 1832 in Paris. This lasted six months, eventually killing 19000 citizens. People could die within two days of becoming infected and there were no remedies. Here, against a background of hearses, a collapsed cholera victim in the foreground displays the cholera symptoms of cyanosis and stomach cramps whilst a woman covers her mouth to avoid being infected. The cholera bacterium was not identified until 1883, and the spread of cholera was due to poor sanitation, unclean drinking water and poverty. Following this epidemic, to renovate Paris a massive programme of public works was started by Baron Haussmann to improve the sanitation, water supply and to rebuild the sewers.