{"product_id":"the-einstein-of-sex-a-pioneer-of-the-lgbtq-rights-movement-autograph-letter-signed-m-hirschfeld-to-the-prominent-turkish-psychiatrist-mazhar-osman-uzman-1884-1951-concerning-a-request-made","title":"[\"THE EINSTEIN OF SEX\" - A PIONEER OF THE LGBTQ+ RIGHTS MOVEMENT] Autograph letter signed \"M. Hirschfeld\", to the prominent Turkish psychiatrist Mazhar Osman [Uzman] (1884-1951), concerning a request made...","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;\"\u003eHIRSCHFELD, MAGNUS (1868-1935).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eBerlin, 19 February 1926.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eComplete title: [\"THE EINSTEIN OF SEX\" - A PIONEER OF THE LGBTQ+ RIGHTS MOVEMENT] Autograph letter signed \"M. Hirschfeld\", to the prominent Turkish psychiatrist Mazhar Osman [Uzman] (1884-1951), concerning a request made by Mazhar Osman and Hirschfeld's efforts to find a suitable opportunity for him.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eOriginal manuscript autograph letter, boldly signed by Hirschfeld in black ink, with contemporary manuscript annotations in another hand at the lower margin. 4to. (28 x 22 cm). In German. 1 p. on the printed letterhead of Hirschfeld's Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, In den Zelten 10, Berlin NW 40. Old horizontal and vertical folds, somewhat fragile along the fold lines; minor marginal wear and a few short, closed tears to the edges, Contemporary manuscript annotations in pencil and ink at the foot. Otherwise, a very good copy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eAn uncommon autograph letter from Magnus Hirschfeld, the pioneering German physician and sexologist, founder of the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft and an early pioneer of the LGBTQ+ rights movement, to Mazhar Osman, one of the principal figures in the establishment of modern psychiatry in Turkey, offering an unusual record of direct professional exchange between German sexology and Turkish psychiatry in the 1920s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eWriting in response to an earlier letter from Mazhar Osman, Hirschfeld thanks him for his friendly communication and states that he has frequently thought of him. Apparently referring to Mazhar Osman’s enquiry concerning an assistant or a suitable professional placement for an assistant, Hirschfeld explains that no suitable opportunity has yet presented itself, but assures him that as soon as one arises, he will notify him immediately by telegram. The letter documents direct correspondence between two prominent physicians working at the intersection of psychiatry, sexology, and neurological medicine in Germany and Turkey during the interwar period. Mazhar Osman's writings participated in the transmission and adaptation of contemporary European psychiatric and sexological terminology into late Ottoman and early Republican Turkish medical discourse.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe letter is written from Hirschfeld's Institut für Sexualwissenschaft in Berlin, established in 1919 and the institutional centre of his work in sexology and sexual reform. The Institute's printed letterhead lists Hirschfeld as Sanitätsrat, together with members of its medical staff. The date, 1926, also coincides with the beginning of the publication of Hirschfeld's major multi-volume synthesis, Geschlechtskunde auf Grund dreißigjähriger Forschung und Erfahrung (1926-1930).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eMagnus Hirschfeld (1868-1935), German physician, sexologist, and one of the earliest pioneers of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, was among the most influential figures in the early scientific study of sexuality and gender. In 1897 he co-founded the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee (Wissenschaftlich-humanitäres Komitee), which campaigned for the repeal of Paragraph 175, the provision of the German penal code criminalising sexual relations between men, and he subsequently devoted much of his career to the study and defence of sexual and gender minorities. His work encompassed homosexuality, bisexuality, transgender and intersex identities, sexual medicine, and wider questions of sexual reform. Hirschfeld's position as a Jewish, openly reformist sexologist and advocate for homosexual rights later made both him and his work particular targets of the National Socialists.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eIn 1919 Hirschfeld founded the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft (Institute for Sexual Science) in Berlin, the first institution of its kind, combining medical treatment with research, professional training, public education, and an extensive specialist library and archive devoted to sexuality and gender. The present letter was written on the Institute's letterhead in 1926, only seven years before its destruction. On 6 May 1933, Nazi-aligned students, joined by members of the SA, raided and plundered the Institute, removing its library, archives, research materials, and clinical records. Four days later, large quantities of material seized from the Institute were publicly burned at Berlin's Opernplatz during the notorious Nazi book burnings; Hirschfeld's bust was carried to the bonfire as well. The Institute was subsequently forced to close, and much of Hirschfeld's accumulated research and documentary archive was permanently lost. The destruction of this unique institutional archive lends particular significance to surviving original correspondence associated with Hirschfeld and the Institute, such as the present letter, which preserves direct evidence of the international professional network surrounding Hirschfeld before the Nazi suppression of his work.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eRARITY:\u003c\/b\u003e Original autograph material by Hirschfeld is extremely rare on the market, with remarkably few letters appearing in recorded auction and bookselling channels. Surviving correspondence is preserved in a few institutional collections, including the Kinsey Institute and German archives; nevertheless, the dispersal and destruction of Hirschfeld's papers have left the surviving documentary record fragmentary. Significantly, even the archive of the Magnus-Hirschfeld-Gesellschaft in Berlin holds only a relatively small body of Hirschfeld material, described as a few folders consisting largely of copies of correspondence obtained from other repositories, including the Kinsey Institute. This scarcity is inseparable from the fate of Hirschfeld's Institut für Sexualwissenschaft: on 6 May 1933 the Institute was ransacked by Nazi-aligned students and SA members, and substantial portions of its celebrated library and archive were carried away and burned in Berlin on 10 May; other saleable material was subsequently dispersed.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Khalkedon Rare Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67914317267075,"sku":null,"price":5000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0390\/3294\/6819\/files\/8_1f5870af-99e6-44a2-890f-2c2a47e135c3.jpg?v=1792177876","url":"https:\/\/khalkedonrarebooks.com\/products\/the-einstein-of-sex-a-pioneer-of-the-lgbtq-rights-movement-autograph-letter-signed-m-hirschfeld-to-the-prominent-turkish-psychiatrist-mazhar-osman-uzman-1884-1951-concerning-a-request-made","provider":"Khalkedon Rare Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}