A collection of five birth control pamplets from the 1930s

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  History of the Birth Control Movement

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  A story of a woman's experience with the Pennsylvania Birth Control Federation

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  History of the Pennsylvania Birth Control Federation

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  Response to the Recognition of Birth Control as a medical practice

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  Pennsylvania Birth Control Federation

Background

The collection of five birth control pamphlets from the 1930’s was made primarily in 1937-1938. A few of these pamphlets were printed by the Pennsylvania Birth Control Federation, located at 253 South Fifteenth Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The other pamphlets were originally published in New York, however, the Pennsylvania Birth Control Federation may have reprinted them to circulate across the Philadelphia area. A publisher is not named, but this collection of five birth control pamphlets from the 1930s are mainly written by doctors or scientists involved/interested in birth control or safely administering birth control at the prime of its movement. Birth Control for Isolated Social Groups by Alla Nekrassova is a pamphlet reprinted from “The Birth Control Review.” The Challenge of Birth Control by Norman E. Himes is copyrighted. There is a paragraph describing the use of the pamphlet, specifically as a one-hour study program for use by Women’s Clubs and study groups. Under this description is a marker of copyright, January 1938. “American Medicine Accepts Birth Control” is reprinted from the Birth Control Review, June 1937. Many of these pamphlets were most likely distributed across multiple communities in the local Philadelphia area for Birth Control awareness. There was no information on when the University of Pennsylvania acquired these collections of pamphlets.

Copyright and Paratext included in The Challenge of Birth Control Booklet

Genre of Ephemera

The term “ephemera,” originated as a medical term from medieval Latin febris, or lasting a day. This term can also be traced from the Greek word ephemeros, meaning daily or lasting only one day, short-lived. In the 17th century, the word was used to describe short-lived insects and flowers in Modern Latin. The original uses of the word ephemera can be used to understand the function of ephemera in print culture. The study of ephemera consists of short-lived documents including pamphlets, religious tracts, advertisements, broadside ballads, chapbooks, banknotes, baseball cards, booklets, bookmarks, and many other examples of disposable literature. Ephemera were commonly distributed by individuals handing them out to others on the street, walking door-to-door, and pasting them on bulletin boards, shop windows, and other common public spaces.

Category of Ephemera

Ephemera comes in many different forms, such as leaflets, brochures, newsletters, and pamphlets. A leaflet can be defined as a free, folded, and printed sheet of paper that houses information. Similarly, a brochure is defined as a pamphlet or leaflet that provides information. A brochure is usually in the form of an A4 sheet of paper folded in three so that it can stand on its own. Pamphlets generally come in a standard size of paper folded in three and present information on each side of the page. The pamphlet can be analyzed using two definitions, one looks at the format of the pamphlet as a substrate, specifically as an unbound booklet carrying information. The second definition recognizes the pamphlet as a short exposition on controversial, often political subjects such as the collection of five birth control pamphlets from the 1930’s. The pamphlet can be seen as a form of ephemeral print media usually more than a single page and directed on a specific subject that can have multiple contributors.

Convenience of Ephemera

Pamphlets were convenient for both publishers and readers. Because of the political nature of many pamphlets, pamphlets befitted one-time editions in times of changing political views and an unstable audience. Because the cost of printing paper and distributing pamphlets by hand is minimal, different groups or individuals can manufacture many pamphlets depending on the availability of resources. Various forms of disposable literature can be accessible to marginalized groups. The prevalence of ephemera in society was made possible by the inexpensive costs and basic skills needed to produce and dispense ideas to others. Many activists throughout movements in the United States have depended on ephemera as a powerful tool to assemble, negotiate, and call ideas into action. Ephemera such as booklets, leaflets, and pamphlets have the advantage of portability, capable of being easily concealed in public spaces, read while waiting in a line, and left behind in public for others to pick up and continue reading. Because of the controversial content placed within ephemera, ephemera is convenient in that it allows for anonymity among writers of ephemera, strangers distributing ephemera on the street, and readers.

Physical Analysis

Substrate

These pamphlets were made from paper. Something distinct about this collection of pamphlets is that they aim to house as much information about the Pennsylvania Birth Control Federation as possible in a compact material. For example, none of these pamphlets are in the form of an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper but are folded or cut in distinct ways so that it is small, possibly for easy distribution.

Platform/Format

This collection of birth control pamphlets is ephemera. There is a membership card for the Pennsylvania Birth Control Federation placed in a small envelope. The birth control pamphlet for isolated groups is folded three times vertically, with a panel of three columns of text on the front and backside (trifold brochure). The pamphlet on the Pennsylvania Birth Control Federation as a whole is bound by staples with the sheets folded once. The pamphlet on The Challenge of Birth Control has the shape of a mini book bounded by staples and sheets of paper.

Birth Control for Isolated Groups Trifold Structure

Binding/Structure

Some of the pamphlets in this collection are bound by staples. This appears to be a cheap and quick alternative to other long-lasting processes such as bookbinding, possibly to get information to the community as quickly as possible.

Navigation

There are titles within the pamphlets to help readers navigate the pamphlets. This allows the pamphlets to capture people’s attention on specific topics on birth control and turn to a specific page for further information.

Paratext

The Pennsylvania Birth Control Federation specifically commented on the importance of the distribution of literature (reprints) for different group meetings. Examples are given on the audience for these pamphlets, for example, Women’s Clubs, Normal School Groups, Social Agencies, Church Groups, Leagues of Woman Voters, Labor Unions, Nursing Schools, and social gatherings. The pamphlets do not indicate who wrote the paratext.

Content

These pamphlets consist of information on the Pennsylvania Birth Control Federation, its goals, members, and triumphs. The pamphlet titled Birth Control for Isolated Groups tells the story of a woman with severe health conditions and her persisting deteriorating health after birthing seven children. Doctors had advised her of the health challenges she would face if she became pregnant again, but did not advise her on contraception. Alla Nekrassova, a doctor working for the Pennsylvania Birth Control Federation knocked on her door and informed her of the existence of clinical methods of contraception. The booklet, The Challenge of Birth Control, provides a timeline of birth control as a movement and its growing recognition in the eyes of the medical field and the government. American Medicine Accepts Birth Control celebrates birth control’s recognition as a legitimate part of medical practice by the American Medical Association.

Historical Significance

Before the 1920s, knowledge of contraception was largely limited to a small cohort of elite men practicing medicine. Beginning in the early 1920s, there began systematic attempts to raise awareness of various contraceptive techniques, beginning with the acceptance of birth control. The contraceptive industry became a member of popular culture in the 1920s and 1930s using advertisements where sex was used as a selling strategy. Advertisers campaigned for contraception as a form of feminine hygiene, or in other words, a medium used to prevent the onset of disease. Contraceptive advertisers were able to conceal dangerous forms of contraception (mixtures of chemicals and others) as medical and thus stayed protected from the law. It was only until June 1973 that the American Medical Association recognized birth control as a necessary part of the field of medicine. Birth control was a prevalent topic in the 1920s, and still is today, due to the high rates of maternal mortality in the United States. For instance, 12, 544 women died from complications associated with pregnancy and childbirth in 1935. Doctors interested in reproductive health also wanted to combat the complications associated with abortion by providing women with advice on clinical contraception. In 1927, an advocating group of men and women formed the Pennsylvania Birth Control and outlined three main objectives: legislative reform, the establishment of clinics, and education of the public. In January 1929, the Pennsylvania Birth Control Federation opened its first clinic and was soon able to expand its practice to over 31 other clinics. In 1947, the Pennsylvania Birth Control Federation changed its name to the Planned Parenthood Association as part of a larger national organization.

Audience and Experience

As outlined before, many of these pamphlets were used for group meetings. It is important to describe the experience ephemera is meant to bring to many marginalized communities. Ephemera provides individuals (such as students) an intimate opportunity to experience first-hand the worm and emotional documents historical figures distributed to the masses. These pamphlets can be described as eye-worn, a collection of papers appraised and passed down between social groups.