Satirical illustration of a man and dog struggling with a silent telephone during the influenza outbreak 插畫檔

This humorous caricature from a late 19th-century issue of L'Illustration captures the social disruption caused by the 1889-1890 influenza pandemic in Paris. The image shows a man in a dressing gown and his small dog both staring intently at an early wall-mounted telephone, with the man pressing the call button in a futile attempt to get a response. The accompanying French verse wittily explains that because the virus has made "prey" of the entire telephone staff, there is no one left to answer the "Allo," leading to a complete lack of "joie" or connection. This social commentary highlights how even the burgeoning modern technologies of the Belle Époque were rendered useless by the widespread illness, reflecting a relatable moment of frustration for city dwellers during the height of the epidemic.