John Cowan (physician)

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Woman with Cowan's The Science of a New Life photographed by William Goldman c. 1892.[1]

John Cowan was an American physician and phrenologist who wrote on sexual health, women's rights, and the evils of tobacco.

His 1869 manual for married couples, The Science of a New Life, was endorsed by the suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton.[2] It was issued in many editions, with parts of the original text expurgated to suit prevailing morality, such as his advice about contraception. It was re-issued with the new title of What All Married People Should Know in 1903.[3] In his 1870 book, Self-help in the Attainment of Perfection of Character and Success in Life, he described himself as a "practical phrenologist".[4]

Selected publications[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Johnson, Robert Flynn. (2018) Working Girls: An American Brothel, circa 1892. The Secret Photographs of William Goldman. New York: Glitterati Editions. pp. 36 & 41. ISBN 9781943876587
  2. ^ Hayden, Wendy (February 14, 2013). Evolutionary Rhetoric: Sex, Science, and Free Love in Nineteenth-Century Feminism. SIU Press. ISBN 9780809331024 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Hoolihan, Christopher (December 10, 2001). An Annotated Catalogue of the Edward C. Atwater Collection of American Popular Medicine and Health Reform. University Rochester Press. ISBN 9781580462846 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ "Self-help in the attainment of perfection of character and success in life". New York, Cowan & company. December 10, 1870 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ "Herald of Health". M.L. Holbrook. December 10, 1869 – via Google Books.