This tee shirt features a coloured copper engraving of Dr. Schnabel (trans. Dr. Beak), a plague doctor in seventeenth-century Rome, published by Paul Fürst, ca.1656.

Plague doctors were real. During the outbreaks of bubonic plague that ravaged western Europe in the seventeenth-century, plague doctors took to wearing this very bizarre looking outfit to protect them from the ‘bad air’ that they believed carried the disease. It normally consisted of a full-body leather or waxed-canvas garment, large crystal glasses, and a large beak containing aromatic spices or dried flowers. These strong smells were meant to block the ‘bad air’.

These doctors also often carried a wand. The wand was used in issuing commands such as ‘take a urine bath’ and as a point of contact between the plague doctor and the patient. It acted as a social distancing tool.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for face masks has led to shortages in many parts of the world. And, while most of us do not enforce social distancing using a wand, we do try to maintain a 2 meter distance from others.

We offer a number of other versions of plague doctor tee shirts in our Geeky Tee Shirt store. They are among our top selling tees.