[Cholera; Korean Folk Art; Missionary] Letter and drawing on mulberry paper

An American missionary  in Korea explains the curious custom of pasting an image of a cat on a door or wall to scare off cholera, known to cause painful cramps and “rat-like” muscle knots. See excerpts from The Missionary View of The World, Sept. 1906, which references Rev. Miller's account, along with an image of a cholera cat painting. (Miss V. F. Penrose, "Medical Missions as a Factor in World Evangelization." Pp. 685-93/ google book.)

The Rev. Frederick Scheibler MILLER (1866-1937)

The Rev. Frederick Sheibler Miller, Presbyterian missionary at Chosen, Korea, from 1892 to 1931.  Letter and drawing on thin mulberry paper, with original envelope bearing a (Japanese) 20 Sen stamp, tied with a circular cancel,  adddressed to C. P. Palmer, N. W. Ayer & Son Philadelphia.

N. W. Ayer & Son was a Philadelphia advertising agency founded in 1869, sometimes calling itself the oldest advertising agency in the United States. 

In June 1886, there was an outbreak of cholera in Fusan (modern Busan). Its arrival was dreaded but not totally unexpected by residents as it had already wreaked havoc in Japan. Characterized by horrible cramps ― which many of the superstitious believed to be a malevolent rat-like spirit clawing its way through its victim's legs in an effort to reach the heart ― the disease was extremely painful and deadly. Efforts were made to appease the spirit through offerings made at little booths or shrines throughout the city. Some residents sought to protect themselves by pasting images of cats on their walls and doors. Others used wooden instruments to make scratching sounds similar to those made by cats in hope of scaring away the evil rat spirit. This practice, which  resurfaced during outbreaks of plague for decades, struck Western visitors as a curious superstition, a custom worth mentioning in letters and reports. 

Books by Rev. Miller include:

Our Korean Friends.

The Gospel in Korea.

Korean Young Folks.

Verses from Korea .

Note on Cat image:  To our bookseller eye the image is an ink drawing, but it may be a block print of some kind.  Also, though there's no doubt that it is from the early years of the last century (possibly even earlier, pre-1900), the cat's face has something distinctly modern about it, reminding at least one viewer of an Andy Warhol sketch-- thus the comparison, just for the heck of it.