Trans Pioneer Lili Elbe "The Danish Girl" Autobiography "Man into Woman: An Authentic Record of a Change of Sex", Scarce First American Edition, 1933

Lili Elbe Transgender History

First Edition

[LGBTQ][Transgender] Elbe, Lili. Man into Woman: An Authentic Record of a Change of Sex, 1933, a central text of transgender history and early twentieth century sexology, and one of the first published autobiographical accounts of gender transition. Based on the life and writings of Lili Elbe, born Einar Wegener, a Danish painter who underwent a series of pioneering gender affirming surgeries in Germany. The work documents the medical, psychological, and social aspects of transition in interwar Europe. Issued shortly after Elbe’s death in 1931, the narrative brought unprecedented public attention to questions of gender identity, embodiment, and surgical intervention at a moment when the study of sexology was actively redefining concepts of sex, intersexuality, and gender identity.

Elbe, Lili. Man into Woman: An Authentic Record of a Change of Sex. Edited by Niels Hoyer [pseudonym of Ernst Harthern]. Translated by H. J. Stenning. Introduction by Norman Haire. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1933. First American edition. The text was compiled by journalist Ernst Harthern under the pseudonym Niels Hoyer from Elbe’s diaries, letters, and oral testimony, tracing her emergence from Einar to Lili and recounting multiple surgical procedures performed in Dresden under the direction of physician Kurt Warnekros. The edition includes an extensive introduction by British sexologist Norman Haire, situating Elbe’s case within contemporary medical discourse on sexual pathology and intersexuality. Eighteen plates reproduce photographs of Elbe before and after surgery as well as artwork by Elbe and her wife, the illustrator Gerda Wegener, whose portraits contributed to Lili’s public image. One volume; illustrated with 18 plates; original light blue cloth with gilt spine titles; no dust jacket; octavo.

Published at a time when public discussion of gender transition remained medically framed and socially contentious, Man into Woman became an early touchstone for subsequent generations seeking narrative precedent for gender affirmation. Elbe's story reached worldwide recognition in 2000 with David Ebershoff's novel "The Danish Girl", and again in 2015 when the book was adapted into an Academy Award winning film of the same name. The 1933 American edition remains the foundational vehicle through which her story entered Anglophone discourse. Spine gilt dulled; cloth sunned with noticeable fading to spine; minor wear to spine ends; corners lightly bumped; binding sound; pages clean with expected age toning; overall very good. A landmark publication in transgender history and early modern gender affirmation narrative.

Item #22622

Price: $2,250.00