A nurse greets a boy, while in the background children play with a ball. The nurse wears on her headdress and her coat the cross of Lorraine, the symbol of the Comité National de Défense contre la Tuberculose, and the initials of the organization, CNT
The scene is depicted with a trompe l'oeil serrated edge to indicate a stamp designed by Cheffer that could be bought as part of the anti-tuberculosis campaign. Cf. this catalogue no. 47676i (design by A. Wilquin)
The red cross with two crossbars had been since 1902 the symbol of the battle against tuberculosis: it was adopted on 23 October 1902 at a Berlin conference on the suggestion of Gilbert Sersiron. It had been the device on the standard of Godfrey of Bouillon, who had placed it on the tower of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem in 1099. Its adoption indicated that the fight against tuberculosis was analogous to a crusade seen from the Christian point of view. Though similar in form, it had no significant connnection with the cross of Lorraine. Information from Thierry Devinck, André Wilquin: publicités, Paris: Agence Culturelle de Paris, Mairie de Paris, 1991, p. 68
