Complex messages—including and perhaps especially those that have the trappings of a simple message, like a simple postcard—are good candidates for rhetorical scrutiny, yielding insight into where we can find persuasive efforts, what those efforts might be doing, and how.

Josh Compton

At first glance, postcards can be wrongly dismissed as trivial, basic postal messages, known for brevity and a simple yet often pleasing illustration. But at the same time, postcards can do more, and there is value in scrutinizing them further. This analysis turns to a specific postcard: #39 Soldier Comic, published by Bamforth & Company out of New York in the early 1900s. It depicts a serviceperson receiving an inoculation—featuring an exaggerated needle and comically dramatic medical procedure. I argue that this postcard is worth a closer look as a unique example of health communication, of science communication, and of postcard communication. The artifact raises interesting questions about vaccination rhetoric, the effects of comic depictions of health issues, and the unique opportunities afforded by postal rhetoric. The analysis also leads to observations of how this vintage postcard yields valuable insight into contemporary vaccination promotion efforts, including ongoing efforts to communicate more clearly about vaccines and the potential inoculative function of Postcard #39 in particular and of postcards in general.

Keywords: vaccination rhetoric; inoculation theory; comics; persuasion; science communication; health communication

Compton, J. (2022, April 7). Inoculation theory, postcards, and persuasion: Bamforth and Company’s Soldier #39 comic, “How you feel at the first inoculation.” Eastern Communication Association, Philadelphia, PA, United States.