Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - April - 2010 Issue
A History of Ideas from Sotheran's
Noise almost always annoys.
Items 60-63 and 65 are a collection of amusing if odd posters by Fougasse (Cyril Kenneth Bird). "Fougasse" was a highly respected cartoonist, noted particularly for his work during the two World Wars, and a one-time editor for Punch magazine. However, these 1958 drawings are aimed at a seemingly trivial issue, noise in hospitals. They were produced for King Edward's Hospital Fund of London, and include captions such as, "Noise Almost Always Annoys," "Noise Seldom Adds to Our Joys," and "Nobody Really Enjoys Noise." Drawings show such offenders as a nurse allowing a door to slam shut and a faucet dripping incessantly. One contains the Florence Nightingale quote, "Unnecessary noise is the most cruel absence of care which can be inflicted on either sick or well." My most recent visits to hospitals suggest that unnecessary noise is no longer considered to be cruel or even particularly undesirable in a hospital setting. £248 each (US $375).
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