Illustrations from a sex manual published in 1942
Here are some illustrations from The Modern Sex Manual by Edward Podolsky, MD. The book, published in 1942, employs a conversational "Q&A" style to discuss the sorts of things people wanted to know back then, but were afraid to ask. For instance:
Does masturbation have anything to do with dulling sexual feeling during intercourse?
Yes. Masturbation, if it has been indulged in excessively before marriage maybe be a cause of lack of orgasm during coitus. In women, masturbation brings into play abnormal channels of nerve stimulation, and as these are not stimulated during the normal act, the woman fails to achieve and orgasm. In most cases if masturbation is dropped completely and normal sexual activity substituted for it, the normal channels of nerve stimulation will in time bring about a normal enjoyment of the act.
Well, okay, Doc, if you say a clitoris is an "abnormal channel of nerve stimulation," that's good enough for me. Hands off, ladies!
Of the seven illustrations I've scanned in, the most elaborate is this detailed infographic that shows how to use the rhythm method, which is shaded to show how clean and fertile you are according to "Jewish or Mosaic code" and the "Ogino-Knaus" rules for intercouse.
Other illustrations show everything from how blowing some oxygen through a woman's fallopian tubes can clear up sterility issues, and how a bifurcated penis might interfere with "successful intercourse."
