1920 Nature’s Secrets Revealed: The Laws of Sex Life and Heredity, or Eugenics

Published in 1920, Eugenics: Nature’s Secrets Revealed is a comprehensive early-20th-century medical and social text examining heredity, sexuality, marriage, and what its authors believed to be the scientific foundations of human improvement. Written during the height of the American eugenics movement, this volume is a striking primary source that reflects the language, assumptions, and moral frameworks of its era.

Authored by Professor T. W. Shannon, A.M., an international lecturer on sex education and heredity, and introduced by Bishop Samuel Fallows, D.D., LL.D., the book blends medical theory, social instruction, and moral guidance. It was intended for married couples, parents, and young adults, offering advice on reproduction, heredity, “social purity,” and physical development. A medical section is contributed by J. Truitt, M.D., formerly associated with the National Medical College in Chicago.

Importantly, this work is profusely illustrated and spans multiple copyright dates (1904–1920), reflecting revisions and expansions across earlier printings. While many of its conclusions are now discredited or rejected, the book remains a valuable artifact for scholars of medical history, social ethics, bio-politics, and the history of public health.

Today, this volume is collected not as endorsement, but as evidence—an unfiltered window into how science, morality, and authority were once dangerously intertwined.

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Details

• Publisher: The S. A. Mullikin Company, Marietta, Ohio

• Year: 1920 (with earlier copyright dates noted)

• Binding: Original black pebbled cloth with gilt title

• Illustrations: Yes, profusely illustrated

• Language: English

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Condition

Solid vintage condition. Binding remains intact with visible edge wear and corner rubbing consistent with age. Pages are clean overall with expected toning. Illustrations present. Please review photos carefully for full condition detail.

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Why It Matters

This is not a casual antique. It is a documented piece of social and medical history—useful to historians, ethicists, educators, and serious collectors examining how “science” has been used to justify power, control, and exclusion.

Ships securely. From a smoke-free collection.