Publisher's Synopsis
Robert Latou Dickinson (1861-1950) was an American gynecologist, medical illustrator and sex researcher. He was one of the first physicians to obtain detailed sexual histories of his patients being of the conviction that many personal and societal ills have their root in sexual problems. As a fast illustrator he made drawings, five at a minimum, and sketches during a patient interaction. Such sketches included drawings of the patients genitalia. Over his career he collected about 5,200 sexual case histories. He also served as an illustrator for medical publications and textbooks. He used electric cauterization for the treatment of cervicitis and for intrauterine ablation for sterilization. In the twenties he closed his practice and focused on sexual research and contraception. In 1923 he founded the National Committee on Maternal Health. This society addressed problems of infertility, birth control, and sexual behavior. His collaboration with the sculptor Abram Belskie resulted in the creation of life-size medical models, among them the Birth Series depicting the birthing process that was displayed at the 1939 New York World's Fair. He was a hiker and published Palisades Interstate Park, written and illustrated by him in 1921 for the American Geographical Society of New York.
