A collection of five birth control pamplets from the 1930s
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.
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.
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.
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.