1-157-603 - Oxford Science Archive/Heritage Images

'Water! Water! Everywhere; and not a Drop to Drink', 1849. Comment on the London water supply during the reappearance of cholera in 1848 and 1849. Cholera first appeared in Britain in 1831, and its relationship with poor public hygiene and contaminated water supply was not understood until this was established by John Snow (1813-1858). Snow's work led to legislation paving the way for dramatic improvements in all aspects of public health provision. Cartoon from Punch, London, 1849, with a mis-quote from Coleridge's Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner.