Collection of 10 Exceptional and Extremely Rare Offprints by Gregory Pincus, Documenting his Research Leading up to the Creation of the Birth Control Pill

Pincus, Gregory

Archive

Pincus, Gregory. 10 offprints, 1926-1939. Collection of 10 rare offprints documenting Gregory Pincus' groundbreaking fertility research leading up to the creation of the first birth control pill. All of the offprints are extremely rare. At the time this is being written, the earliest three have 0 returns on OCLC; the later 7 publications each return only 1 listing on OCLC, within university special collections. Offprints come from the libraries of genetic researchers, including Sewell Wright and Robert H. Foote, and include their signatures and ownership stamps on the front covers. All include original wrappers, except “The Maintenance of Embryo Life in Ovariectomized Rabbits" (1938) and “The comparative behavior of mammalian eggs in vivo and in vitro, VI. The maturation of human ovarian ova” (1939). Some age-related wear and toning to the covers, fold lines, chipping and small tears to exteriors; several copies contain highlighting and marginal annotations. Overall in very good condition.

Pincus was a leading researcher at Harvard University, conducting experiments on mammalian biology, when he made one of the major breakthroughs in his career: successful in vitro fertilization of a rabbit in 1934. While the importance of this research was acknowledged by all, the controversy surrounding it was overwhelming, and it cost Pincus his faculty position at Harvard University. He continued his pioneering work in human and animal hormone research, and he met birth control advocate Margaret Sanger in 1951, who enlisted him to collaborate on a method for oral contraception. Over the next decade, Pincus worked with other leading scientists and medical professionals to develop “the pill,” which gained FDA approval in 1960.

The 10 offprints here were published in the time before and after Pincus’s successful in vitro rabbit experiment in 1934. The 6 offprints (included here) that were published before this breakthrough all deal with various studies and analyses of mammalian behavior. The offprints published after 1934 are all directly related with fertilization and embryonic life and sustainability. An extremely rare and important archive from one of the most significant and impactful scientists of the 20th century.

W. J. Crozier and G. Pincus, “Stereotropism in rats and mice,” reprinted from The Journal of General Physiology, September 20, 1926, Vol. x, No. 1, pp. 195-203.

W. J. Crozier and G. Pincus, “The Geotropic Conduct of Young Rats,” reprinted from The Journal of General Physiology, November 20, 1926, Vol. x, No. 2, pp. 257-269.

William Ernest Castle and Gregory Pincus, “Hooded rats and selection, a study of the limitations of the pure-line theory,” Journal of Experimental Zoology, v. 50, no. 3, Apr. 5, 1928.

W. J. Crozier and G. Pincus, “Analysis of the Geotropic Orientation of Young Rats. III” and “Analysis of the Geotropic Orientation of Young Rats. IV,” reprinted from The Journal of General Physiology, November 20, 1931, Vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 201-256.

W. J. Crozier and G. Pincus, “Analysis of the Geotropic Orientation of Young Rats. V” and “Analysis of the Geotropic Orientation of Young Rats. VI,” reprinted from The Journal of General Physiology, March 20, 1932, Vol. 15, No. 4, p. 421-462.

W. J. Crozier and G. Pincus, “Analysis of the Geotropic Orientation of Young Rats. VII,” reprinted from The Journal of General Physiology, May 20, 1933, Vol. 16, No. 5, pp. 801-813.

Gregory Pincus and Nicholas T. Werthessen, “The Maintenance of Embryo Life in Ovariectomized Rabbits,” reprinted from The American Journal Physiology, Vo. 124, No. 2, November, 1938.

Gregory Pincus, “The comparative behavior of mammalian eggs in vivo and in vitro, IV. The development of fertilized and artificially activated rabbit eggs,” Journal of Experimental Zoology, v. 82, no. 1, Oct. 5, 1939.

Gregory Pincus, “The Breeding of Some Rabbits Produced by Recipients of Artificially Activated Ova,” reprinted from The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vo. 25, No. 11, pp. 557-559, November, 1939.

Gregory Pincus and Barbara Saunders, “The comparative behavior of mammalian eggs in vivo and in vitro, VI. The maturation of human ovarian ova,” reprinted from The Anatomical Record, Vol. 75, No. 4 and Suppl., December, 1939.

Item #15237

Price: $3,500.00