SEX & SEXUALITY, 1640-1940
Literary, Medical and Sociological Perspectives

Part 1: Sources from the Bodleian Library, Oxford and the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, London

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

"A well chosen and wide-ranging collection that will make major texts more widely available for the first time, Sex & Sexuality will help to restore the subject to its rightful place in research and teaching."
Professor Roy Porter, Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine

This new series opens up a subject that has remained largely inaccessible and makes available many writings that have been restricted to specialist libraries and obscure archives. Many of the texts have been subject to taboo, censorship, prejudice and condemnation and have been relegated to the periphery. This series will enhance our understanding of the sexual enlightenment and its aftermath and the way in which individuals have negotiated their sexual practices and beliefs throughout the course of history. It complements - and does not in any way duplicate - our series entitled Women Advising Women, Women and Victorian Values and Masculinity.

Part 1, which includes texts from the Bodleian Library, Oxford and the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, London, provides 61 texts which will enable researchers to understand how perceptions of the body have changed over time, and how attitudes towards sex have influenced broader gender issues.

The following extracts, which are divided into different genres of material, will give a flavour of the range of material to be found in Part 1 of the series.
Sexual Habits

In Nymphomania, or a Dissertation concerning the Furor Uterinus, 1775 M D T de Bienville M D, explains "the beginning, progress and different causes of that horrible distemper", and claims that, "Debauched girls, who during a long time have lived amidst the disorders of a voluptuous life, are of a sudden, attacked by this malady....Married women are not exempted from this distemper...."

Erotomania, or a Treatise discoursing of the Essence, Causes…and Cure of Love, or Erotique Melancholy, 1640 by Jacques Ferrand contains advice on "Love-Melancholy" with chapters entitled "Whether Love-Melancholy be an Hereditary disease, or no"; The Externall causes of Love-Melancholy"; "What manner of eyes Melancholy Lovers have"; During what Age, Men and Women are subject to this disease of Love-Melancholy".

Ferrand refers to the writings of Aristotle; "It may very easily then be, according to this doctrine of Aristotle, and of Galen, that a woman, being enflamed with the violence of love, may put forth those her genitall parts, which are no other, then those of a man reversed, or turned inward, as the same Doctour affirmes: whom nothwithstanding all our Modern Anatomists doe unanimously contradict: as you may see at large in the Anatomicall Quotations of Andreas Laurentius". He adds: "A woman is an imperfect man...differing in nothing from a man, but only in the Genitallia... which are kept within meerely through defect of naturall heat".

Gonosologium Novum: Or, a New System of all the Secret Infirmities and Diseases, Natural, Accidental, and Venereal in Men and Women…with a further warning against Quacks, 1709 by John Marten, gives information and advice on impotency, conception, pregnancy, barrenness and infertility: "Men and Women cease to engender differently...those that are naturally very Amorous and Lascivious, soonest leave off.... Some Men...are capable of procreating at seventy, others not at fifty five...."

In Onania; or, the Heinous Sin of Self-Pollution, And all its Frightful Consequences (in both Sexes) Considered, with Spiritual and Physical Advice to those, who have already injur’d themselves by this abominable Practice. And seasonable Admonition to the Youth of the Nation (of both sexes) and Those Whose Tuition They are Under, Whether Parents, Guardians, Masters, or Mistresses, Anon, 1776, the author describes the ill-effects that "self-pollution" has on men and women: "It manifestly hinders the growth, both in girls and boys, and few of either sex, that in their youth commit this sin to excess for any considerable time, come ever to that robustness or strength which they would have arrived to without it. In men, as well as boys, the first attempt of it has often occasioned a Phymosis in some, and a Paraphymosis in others: I shall not explain these terms any further; let it suffice, that they are accidents which are very painful and troublesome...." There is also helpful advice for those affected by the "consequences of self-pollution". The following is typical of the letters written to the author:

"Letters to the author: Oct 18 1739
I have a weakness in my testicles....my yard is small and weak.... I have the piles very often; my nocturnal pollutions are but seldom to what they used to be. I am troubled with flushings in the face....Dear Sir, I desire you to leave your answer with the bookseller...."
Yours, Onus, A C

The author answers: "In answer to this letter I advised the patient to take the strengthening Tincture, and the phials of the Restoring Drink, which upon his request I sent him accordingly...."

The Nature and Causes of Impotence in Men, and Barrenness in Women, Explained, Third edition, 1758, by G Archibald Douglas, is a book describing causes of impotence, false conception, barrenness, the best time to marry and to have children: "The high season of life is from 17 to four and twenty; and the lady who marries within that period, has a thousand times the chance for happiness that she has, who stays longer".

In James Graham’s The Guardian goddess of health: or the whole art of preventing and curing disease; and of enjoying peace and happiness of body and of mind to the longest possible period…with precepts for the preservation and exaltation of personal beauty…To which is added, an account of the composition, preparation, and properties of the three great medicines prepared and dispensed at the Temple of Health, Adelphi, and at the Temple of Hymen, Printed for the People, c.1782, the author describes:

" the new and improved methods of curing diseases which consist in regimen, herbs, simple medicines, the choicest articles of the Materia Medica, and aetherial essences, rendered more salutary and active by means of the most powerful vital agents in nature, viz Electricity, Vivifying Air, Medical Music, and Magnetism; or in other words, by gently conveying to those at the Altar, or on the Medico-electrical Throne, without shock... the pure, active, genial, balmy, bracing, and restorative effluvia of medicines...."

In Chapter II he describes his "nervous aetherial balsam. "If the reader can conceive of the richest - purest - and most strengthening parts of all the cordial and nourishing things he is acquainted with in nature - being extracted, purified, exalted, harmonized and concentrated into a small compass, - he may also conceive of the nature and properties of this precious balsam. The Peruvian bark, cinnamon, saffron...myrrh, amber...and fragrant aromatic strengtheners are selected with my own hand, and prepared under my own eye....They are placed to macerate and digest...under the united influences of ...vivifying air, aether, magnetism and electricity, in the great globes which compose the tremendous pyramids on the dome of the Temples".

He lists the many illnesses which he has the most success in curing with his balsam and treatment: Fevers...Consumption, Asthmas...VENEREAL complaints...Stomach and Bowel complaints...FEMALE COMPLAINTS...the Measles, Small-pox...the Dropsy...."

Advice Books

The well known Aristotle’s Master-Piece or The Secrets of Generation as played in all the parts thereof, Anon, 1690, is a sexual primer for married couples describing itself as "very necessary for all Midwives, Nurses and Young-Married Women". Its contents include "1. The Signs of Barrenness"... 5. Of Monstrous Births, and the reasons thereof...10. A Discourse of Virginity...14. The Fabrick of the Womb...19. For preventing Miscarriage...20. For Women in Child-bed..."

The author gives advice on all manner of things including conception: "When both the Husband and Wife meet with an equal Ardor in their Conjugal Embraces, it is very rare, if it not be attended with Conception. But when that Act is over, all is not done; for that it may have the better Success, the Husband must not presently separate himself from his Wives Embraces, lest the Air should suddenly strike in, and so prevent the happy issue of their Labours: And when the Man departs, the Woman ought to compose her self to all the rest and quietness imaginable, and to avoid heavy thoughts of what may cause any disturbance; and especially she ought to avoid both Coughing and Sneezing, both which are great hindrances to Conception after the Act of Copulation".

In The Mysteries of Conjugal Love Reveal’d, Third edition, 1712, Nicolas de Venette gives advice to men and women regarding ailments affecting the sexual organs. He maintains that: "The privy parts of a Woman...are the cause of most of our Sorrows, as well as our Pleasures; and I dare say, that all Disorders, that ever happen’d in the World...spring from this same source".

A Treatise of the Use of Flogging in Venereal Affairs, 1718 by J H Meibomius explains how flogging can increase sexual appetite, "The Heat of the Blood inflam’d by the Flogging of the Loins to increase the Warmth of the Reins and provoke a venereal Appetite". This item also includes information on hermaphrodites: "Hermaphrodites are a mixture of both Sexes and in both are incompleat".

Samuel Solomon’s Guide to Health or, advice to both sexes with an essay on a certain disease, seminal weakness, and a destructive habit of private nature. Also an address to parents, tutors, and guardians of youth. To which one added, observations on the use and abuse of cold bathing. Fifty second edition, 1800, gives advice on topics including abortion, onanism, asthma, barrenness and bleeding. The main remedy for all ailments is Dr Solomon’s "Cordial Balm of Gilead". For sufferers of nervous disorders he recommends: "Their food should be solid and nourishing, but of easy digestion. All excess should be carefully avoided. Hot meats are hurtful. They ought never to eat more at a time than they can digest; but if they feel themselves weak and faint between meals, they ought to eat a bit of bread, and drink a glass of wine, with two or three tea-spoonfuls of the Cordial Balm of Gilead added thereto....Though wine in excess enfeebles the body, and impairs the faculties of the mind; yet taken in moderation, it strenghtens the stomach, and promotes digestion".

Letters from patients to Dr Solomon are included in the book and an extract from one of them is given below:

"For six years I was afflicted with a nervous disorder.... Hearing of your famous Cordial Balm of Gilead, have given it a fair trial. The symptom of my disorder is admirably described in your "Guide to Health". I found my head heavy, and an odd sensation in my forehead....All liquors disagreed with my stomach, except porter or a little brandy and water. I was sometimes troubled with a continual belching and hickup for weeks together; for these three last years I discharged a whitish matter from the penis, which came on once a fortnight, sometimes oftener; this proceeded from relaxation alone, and from no venereal taint or private indiscretion....The principal cause of my disorder, I believe, was fright, which brought on indigestion, and all that train of evils which I have attempted to describe. Rainy, cold and raw weather, had great effect on my body and mind....I found so much relief from these three bottles, that I wish you to send a five-pound case". Solomon adds a footnote to the letter: "Perfectly cured, by the Cordial Balm of Gilead, in ten weeks".

Moral Guidance

One title included is William Lovett’s Social and Political Morality, 1853. Lovett was one of the leaders of "moral force" Chartism. He disappoved of non-marital sex, drinking, wanted stricter laws on prostitution and opposed divorce. He believed that sex education for the young was a key factor in imparting moral knowledge. He linked sexual discipline with political progress, arguing that wealth and power cause suffering just as sexual licence does. "Man... has within him the capacities of the philosopher and the propensities of the savage: and whether he shall be one or the other will depend on the...means taken to develope the good and control the evil".

Medical Works

A Practical Treatise on Diseases of the Breasts of Women.... 1772 by William Rowley gives information on the care of breasts before and after childbirth, diseases and treatment of the breasts. Cancer of the breast was prevalent and he advocates: "The proper treatment of the breasts during childbed is of the utmost importance; for at this time the foundation of the cancer is often laid".

He also gives the thoughts of midwives on why so few join the profession: "The reason which the women midwives assign to being backwards in calling...is the ill treatment which they commonly meet with from the men midwives".

Lessons in Gynaecology, 1887 by William Goodell includes a chapter on "The Nerve-Counterfeits of Uterine Diseases" and warns that "The crying medical error of the day is... the mistaking of nerve-disease for womb-disease....The womb...being reachable, seeable, and directly treatable, is charged with almost all the ills that female flesh is heir to: and it is, too often, made the scapegoat for headaches...for spine-aches which may be due solely to nerve-exhaustion...and not to reflex action from some real or some supposed uterine disorder...."

In the Preface to Woman in Health and Sickness, 1889, Robert Bell states:

"It is not intended to build up in this book a system of the psychology of sexual life....The object of this treatise is merely to record the various psychopathological manifestations of sexual life in man and to reduce them to their lawful conditions....The importance of the subject, however, demands scientific research on account of its forensic bearing and its deep influence upon the common weal. The medical barrister only then finds out how sad the lack of our knowledge is in the domain of sexuality...."

The contents include a wide range of subjects such as chastity, monogamy, puberty, platonic love, adultery, celibacy, position of women in Islam, religious and erotic fetishism, flagellation as a stimulant for sexual life, sexual neuroses, masochism and sexual bondage, violation of animals, sodomy and bestiality, sadism and maltreatment of women by cutting or flogging.

Literary Treatments

Conjugal Lewdness; or Matrimonial Whoredom, 1727, by Daniel Defoe gives the background to his thinking on love and marriage, explaining that the basis of a perfect marriage is a blend of sexual and intellectual love. He feels that there will be trouble in a marriage if there is no love, "To marry without Affection! It seems to be like two Bulls chained together that being tied so close as that they cannot gore and kill one another, yet they are always striving to do it, wishing to do it...."

Also included is Daniel Defoe’s A Treatise Concerning the Use and Abuse of the Marriage Bed, 1727 which contains chapters such as: "The Nature of Matrimony; The Diabolical Practice of attempting to prevent Child-bearing by Physical Preparations; Of unequal Matches, as to the Disproportion of Age; and how such many ways occasion a Matrimonial Whoredom...."

Prostitution

Prostitution in London, with a comparative view of that of Paris and New York, 1839 by Michael Ryan gives "an account of the nature and treatment of the various diseases, caused by the abuses of the reproductive function...proving moral depravation to be the most fertile source of crime, and of personal and social misery".

Frederick W Lowndes’ Prostitution and venereal diseases in Liverpool, 1886 concentrates on the city of Liverpool and gives detailed information on the number of brothels, prostitutes and a table showing the birthplace of prostitutes. He comments: " This last table discloses a very sad circumstance, which has been frequently remarked upon, I mean the large proportion of prostitutes who come from Ireland...."

Prostitution considered in its moral, social and sanitary aspects in London and in other large cities, 1857 by William Acton gives much detail on prostitution in Paris quoting M Duchatelet’s comments on the chief causes of prostitution: "Laziness may be placed in the first rank; it is the desire of procuring enjoyments without working, that causes many young women to leave their places, or to refrain from seeking others when out of service. The laziness, carelessness, and cowardice of prostitutes, have become almost proverbial. Misery, proceeding to a frightful extreme, is also one of the most active causes of this evil. How many young women, abandoned by their families, without relations or friends, are obliged to have recourse to prostitution?...."

Acton gives statistics on the education of prostitutes: "Of 4,470 born and brought up in Paris, 1,780 signed very badly, 110 signed well, 248 doubtful, 2,232 could not sign their names; and of 7,600 born in the departments, 4,352 were unable to sign". He also gives details of the ages of the prostitutes, dividing those who were registered into age groups, the largest group being 20 years of age (ie 389 of 3,245 registered).

Sociology of Sex

Psychopathia Sexualis: With especial reference to Contrary Sexual Instinct. A Medico-Forensic Study, 1892 by Richard von Krafft-Ebing is a physchology of sexual life, giving information on subjects such as masochism, fetishism, homosexual feelings, absence of sexual feelings, the act of cohabitation, rape and hyperaestnasia. Many case histories are included as examples.

The Evolution of Sex, 1889 by Patrick Geddes and J Arthur Thomson gives practical information on subjects including, the male and female organs, the ovum and sperm, reproduction, the determination of sex and the physiology of sex.

Edward Carpenter, a democratic author and poet, was keen to create a more just society, challenging old concepts and beliefs. He wrote much on gender roles, birth control and sexuality.

The following three works of Carpenter are included in this section: Homogenic Love, 1894: Love’s Coming of Age, 1896: The Intermediate Sex, 1908, 1912

The quote below which is from Krafft-Ebing’s Psychopathia Sexualis: With especial reference to Contrary Sexual Instinct. A Medico-Forensic Study, 1892 seems to make a suitable final extract which sums up the feeling behind this new microfilm series:

"Sexuality is the most powerful factor in individual and social existence; the strongest incentive to the exertion of strength and acquisition of property, to the foundation of a home and to the awakening of altruistic feelings, first for a person of the opposite sex, then for the offspring and, in a wider sense, for all humanity".

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