A Common Cold Germ Asking the Father of a Neurasthenia Bacillus if He Can Marry Her

This pen drawing by C. Harrison satirizes class anxiety through anthropomorphized microbes. A lowly cold germ courts the daughter of a supposedly superior neurasthenia bacillus, who refuses the match on grounds of social rank. The cartoon exploits early-twentieth-century fascination with germ theory to mock rigid class prejudice, a recurring motif in satirical prints descended from Gillray and Rowlandson. Harrison renders the microbes with elaborate Victorian dress and exaggerated features, channeling the tradition of social caricature into scientific imagery. The work exemplifies how popular illustration adopted the print satirist's scorn for pretension, translating high-society mockery into modern biological humor—a bridge between classical caricature and comic illustration.