The Statue of Liberty was a gift to the United States from France and was dedicated in the New York Harbor in 1886. It was designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and built by Gustave Eiffel, of Eiffel Tower fame.
They believed the disease was airborne and was spread by miasma, which is a noxious form of "bad air."
To battle this perceived threat, the long beak was packed with such sweet smells as dried flowers, herbs and spices. Also the bird-beak mask provided the doctors with creepy award-winning costumes for any fancy dress party they might be attending.
The doctors' attempt at safety backfired in the sense that the bird masks became a symbol of the Black Death.
