I wasn't hopeful that I would get a response, given the website of the Center shared it was closed due to our current pandemic. So please be honest with me. Is there any information that corroborates that this cat is really wearing a mask? Does it appear that pre-photoshop-printmakers painstakingly phoneyed this photo? If not, what is your best opinion on the matter?
But as a professor, I am not afraid of the truth (backed by strong evidence, of course). I have to admit, as a dog owner, I tend to see the world through rose-colored glasses. So I will admit to you that my very solemn hope is that the cat, having lived with that large family over the last two years of the pandemic, has become one of them, a family member, and thusly certainly expected her own mask. Knowing cats, probably demanded it, even. However, as a government employee, I have to assume that you are under some oath to be very fair in matters like these. I know when one is having a debate, they should not tell the arbitrator of the debate their own strongly-held position, and should instead present the situation as neutrally as possible, so as to not sway that final vote. But I digress. The cat is also wearing a mask. Which did not actually occur in Spain, which proves we are really bad at naming pandemics. My good friends and I are having a lively debate about a photo housed in your collection that is circulating. I bet you already know the photo- it's the family wearing masks during, I imagine, the Spanish Flu.
From there, I located the email address of the center coordinator and sent the following email. Using the website, I backward-searched the image, sorted by the earliest post date, and located a post from several years pre-Covid19 which credited the photo to the holdings of a small heritage museum in Dublin, California. And because I hate spreading fake news, but was also really hoping this cat was wearing a mask, I decided I needed to get to the bottom of this issue. In response to my post, a well-respected friend chimed in that she questioned the veracity of the claim that this cat was actually wearing a mask. If you look closely at this photo, which is labeled as a family in California during the Spanish Flu of 1918-1920, you will see that the family cat appears to be wearing a mask, much like we have been asked to wear for our own protection now. Last week a friend (re)shared this image to Facebook, and I passed it on, as one does when looking for a little levity from our current state of affairs.
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