Married Love.: A new contribution to the solution of sex difficulties. Fifteenth edition.

London: G. P. Putnam's Sons,, [1925]. Presentation copy to her son's nurse Signed limited edition, number 9 of 540 copies signed by the author on the frontispiece; this additionally a presentation copy, inscribed by its infamous author to her son's nurse using her affectionate nickname, "To dear Niss, with the Author's love. Xmas 1925", on the front free endpaper. Sister Phyllis Jones, or "Niss", was nurse to the young Harry Stopes-Roe, born on 27 March 1924, the first surviving son of Stopes (1880-1958) and her second husband Humphrey Verdon Roe, the financial backer of Married Love. As the annotated envelopes of the Stopes home videos (now housed in the Wellcome Library) prove, Jones was an integral part of family life in Harry's early years; tapes are labelled "6. Aut. 1925 Niss & Dora & Buffkins" (Buffkins being Harry's nickname), "8. Jan. 1926 Snow at Givons. Niss, Marie, Buffkins & Father on sledge. Also Wuffles (the Chow) and goat", "19. 9. 1929 On rocks at Portland; includes Niss". Stopes was a famously protective mother - she advertised to adopt a companion for Harry, "a little boy between the ages of 20 months and 2 1/4 years... The child must be absolutely healthy, intelligent, and not circumcised", and was exacting about his diet and clothing - so for Niss to have been hired for such a position, and clearly trusted, is notable. This makes this a touching and close association copy of Married Love, Stopes's controversial guide to sex, first published in 1918. Praised and vilified in almost equal measure for its frank discussion of sexual relationships and its support of married couples using birth control, it proved to be a "runaway best-seller" (ODNB) and was banned from importation into the US for thirteen years. The signed limited edition is the fifteenth edition overall. Octavo. Original pale grey cloth, bevelled boards, spine and front board lettered in gilt with elaborate knotwork decoration in gilt, top edge gilt, others uncut. Monochrome portrait frontispiece with tissue guard. Spine ends bumped, front board lightly bowed, endpapers slightly toned with occasional faint foxing to contents, else a bright, clean copy, the cloth particularly fresh. See Wellcome Library online catalogue, "Family films of Marie Stopes", 1925, shelfmark 5301D.