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?
Lv 5
? asked in Arts & HumanitiesHistory · 7 years ago

Do any original plague doctor costumes still exist?

Plague doctors were doctors who would treat diseases like bubonic plague centuries ago. They had a distinctive protective costume that they wore, with a beaked mask full of aromatic herbs, a wide-brimmed hat, and a long waxed overcoat.

Since that time, people have made similar costumes, and many photos of them can be found online, but do any original plague doctor costumes still exist from the times when this costume was actually used by doctors? I imagine used ones might have been burned or otherwise disposed of as an infectious object at some point. I'm curious to see a photo of one, if it exists, rather than just the engravings and drawings I've seen.

1 Answer

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  • ?
    Lv 7
    7 years ago

    No, none exist. There is an obvious reason for that. Why would someone keep clothing that was exposed to a deadly plague? More info here.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plague_doctor

    You could make one but no, items of clothing exposed to the Black Plague were not kept around to show at parties.

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