Florence

1934 · 8310 — New York: Macmillan 1934. 1st Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. Near Fine/Very Good. Wertham Florence. Extremely rare volume featuring a detailed scientific study of the human brain; 538pp. plus 166 plates drawn by the author's wife. Near-fine with ownership signature on front pastedown otherwise bright and clean inside and out. In a very good dust jacket with a bit of darkening to spine and some loss at the extremities. Wertham was a well-respected progressive psychiatrist who treated poor black patients at his Harlem-based Lafargue Clinic when mental health services for people of color were uncommon. However he remains best known for his concerns about the effects of violent imagery in mass media and the effects of comic books on the development of children. In 1954 he published "Seduction of the Innocent" which asserted that comic books caused youth to become delinquents. Wertham also wrote articles and testified before government inquiries into comic books most notably as part of a U.S. Congressional inquiry into the comic book industry. Wertham's work--along with the 1954 comic book hearing--led to creation of the Comics Code although later scholars cast doubt on his observations. Wertham's views on mass media were subsequently overshadowed by his broader concerns with violence and protecting children from psychological harm and his writings about the effects of racial segregation were used as evidence in the landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education. <br/> <br/> Macmillan hardcover