Life — June 3, 1915 — page 11: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Those Who Are in Love with Her" — A Cautionary Medical Tale This page illustrates a grim narrative about Edward Johnson, a twelve-year-old boy from Washington, N.Y. The three panels depict different scenarios involving romantic or social encounters with a young woman, captioned "Those Who Are in Love with Her." The accompanying text reveals the dark purpose: Johnson contracted smallpox and died within four days. The article documents that doctors initially misdiagnosed his illness as blood poisoning, then typhoid meningitis, before concluding vaccination caused his death. This appears to be a cautionary editorial piece about vaccination dangers and misdiagnosis, using the illustration's ambiguous title and romantic framing ironically—the "love" potentially refers to careless medical attention rather than romance.