June 2021 Catalogue

58 S c i e n c e & M e d i c i n e • J u n e 2 0 2 1 Presentation/Association First Edition Of Margaret Sanger’s Autobiography , 1938, Warmly Inscribed By Her 54. SANGER, Margaret. An Autobiography. New York, 1938. Octavo, original navy cloth, dust jacket. $1800. Click for more info First edition of the autobiography of Margaret Sanger, who spearheaded the movement for contraceptive rights, a memorable presentation/association copy, inscribed: “To Dr. Maurice William, My friend and Coworker in many causes, Margaret Sanger Aug 27/45.” “As the originator of the phrase ‘birth control’ and its best-known advocate, Margaret Sanger survived Federal indictments, a brief jail term, numerous lawsuits, hundreds of street-corner rallies and raids on her clinics to see much of the world accept her view that family planning is a basic human right.” In 1936 her efforts influenced the reinterpretation of the Comstock law “to provide for distribution of contraceptive information” ( New York Times ). Sanger founded and served as president of the American Birth Control League, organized the first World Population Conference in Geneva, and was the first president of the International Planned Parenthood Federation. A colleague of Sanger’s, Dr. Maurice William understood the struggles of New York’s poor and their need for access to reliable clinics and physicians. In the 1930s Dr. William became the first secretary and a founding member of the board of directors for the American Bureau of Medical Aid. Text fresh, marginal dampstaining to early leaves and corner of front board; light edge-wear, small chip to upper rear edge of scarce dust jacket. A near-fine inscribed copy.