Big Blue Book collection: Finding
Aid
Finding aid prepared by Diann Benti.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Rare Books Department
The Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
© 2015
The Huntington Library. All rights reserved.
Overview of the Collection
Title: Big Blue Book collection
Dates (inclusive): 1927-1951
Bulk dates: 1947-1951
Collection Number: 605986
Creator:
Haldeman-Julius, E. (Emanuel), 1888-1951, editor
Extent:
81 items in 4 boxes
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Rare Books Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection contains 81 booklets from the popular Big Blue Book series edited by American social reformer and writer E.
Haldeman-Julius and
published by the Haldeman-Julius Company of Girard, Kansas. The collection includes booklets dating from 1927 to 1951, with
the bulk
from 1947 to 1951. The titles in the collection are primarily on topics related to free thought, humanism, religion, sex,
health, self-improvement, and history. More than thirty different
authors are represented, including sexologist David O. Cauldwell and freethought writer Joseph McCabe.
Language: English.
Note:
Finding aid last updated on January 12, 2015.
Access
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
Administrative Information
Publication Rights
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder,
if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item]. Big Blue Book Collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Provenance
Gift of Merle R. Bobzien, January 2014.
Historical Note
Emanuel Haldeman-Julius (1889-1951) was an American social reformer, writer, and publisher. Haldeman-Julius was born in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, in 1889, and became a member
of the Socialist part in the early 1910s. In 1915, he moved to Girard, Kansas, to edit the socialist paper
The Appeal to Reason. Four years later, Haldeman-Julius,
his wife, and Louis Kopelin purchased the
Appeal's printing plant and formed the Appeal Publishing Company. That year, the company began producing a small,
inexpensive booklet series titled
The Appeal's Pocket Series. In 1922, the company became the Haldeman-Julius Company.
The booklets expanded into multiple series in the early 1920s, including the People's Pocket Series, Ten Cent Pocket Series,
Five Cent Pocket Series, and Pocket Series; the most
commonly issued pocket series, the "Little Blue Books," was begun in 1923. Little Blue Books were published from 1923 until
1978 in a uniform 3.5 x 5 inch format with color
paper wrappers and a 15,000-word limit. The booklets were aimed at providing inexpensive educational resources to the working
class and typically included reprints of classic literary
works, socialist writings, original essays, often by liberal and radical writers, and self-improvement manuals.
In 1925, the company also began publishing "Big Blue Books," which were 8.5 x 5.5 inches and more expensive than the Little
Blue Books. More than 300 million copies of the Big and
Little Blue Books were sold before their discontinuation in 1964.
Haldeman-Julius died in 1951. Under the management of Haldeman-Julius's son Henry J. Haldeman, the company continued to produce
pamphlets until the Girard plant was destroyed by fire in 1978.
Source:
Bushnell, Judith. "Haldeman-Julius Company," in
The Dictionary of Literary Biography: Volume 46: American Literary Publishing Houses, 1900-1980 (Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Company, 1986).
Scope and Content
This collection contains 81 booklets from the
Big Blue Book series edited by American social reformer and writer E. Haldeman-Julius and published by the Haldeman-Julius Company of Girard,
Kansas. The collection includes booklets dating from 1927 to 1951,
with the bulk from 1947 to 1951. The titles in the collection are primarily on topics related to free thought, superstition,
humanism, religion, sex, psychology, health, relationships, self-improvement, and history.
More than thirty different authors are represented, including a number by sexologist Dr. David O. Cauldwell and freethought
writer Joseph McCabe.
The booklets are 8.5 x 5.5 inches, with colored paper wrappers; many have the name "Leo Rosenthal" stamped on the inside
front cover. Entries for each imprint
in the contents list contain the following information (when known): publisher's number; title; date; and author(s).
Related materials in the Huntington Library
Arrangement
The books are arranged numerically according to the publisher's title number, often with a "B" prefix, printed on the front
cover.
Indexing Terms
Subjects
Big blue book
Catholic Church -- Controversial literature
Free thought
Humanism
Psychology
Religion
Sex
Sex customs
Superstition
World history
Added Entries
Barrett, T. D.
Blank, Nell
Blank, Sarge
Bristol, Richard R.
Cauldwell, David O. (David Oliver), 1896-
Crapsey, Algernon Sidney, 1847-1927
Draper, William R.
Dulaure, J.-A. (Jacques-Antoine), 1755-1835
Eastman, Rex R.
Eldridge, Paul, 1888-1982
Fulks, Clay
Gould, F. J. (Floyd Jerome), 1936-
Haldeman-Julius, E. (Emanuel), 1888-1951
Haldeman-Julius, E. (Emanuel), 1888-1951, editor
Leigh, W. R.
Liber, B. (Benzion), 1875-
Mangasarian, M. M. (Mangasar Mugurditch), 1859-1943
McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
McGee, John Edwin, 1893-
Niemoeller, A. F. (Adolph Fredrick), 1903-
Reiser, Oliver Leslie, 1895-1974
Ries, Estelle H.
Robertson, J. M. (John Mackinnon), 1856-1933
Sessions, Alanson E.
Shaw, Bernard, 1856-1950
Sinclair, Upton, 1878-1968
Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909
Strachstein, Abraham, 1881-
Swancara, Frank
Weaver, George Russell
Wolbarst, A. L. (Abraham Leo), 1872-
Woodford, Jack, 1894-1971
Yarros, Victor S.
Haldeman-Julius Company, publisher
Box 1
Big Blue Books Nos. B-37 to B-599
No. B-37
Free speech and free thought in America / E. Haldeman-Julius.
1927
Author(s): Haldeman-Julius, E. (Emanuel), 1888-1951
No. B-40
This tyranny of bunk / E. Haldeman-Julius.
1927
Author(s): Haldeman-Julius, E. (Emanuel), 1888-1951
No. B-461
The return of humanism : sketches of Rabelais, Montaigne, Cervantes, Bruno, Shakespeare and Galileo / Joseph McCabe.
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
Note: Volume III of
One hundred men who moved the world : character sketches of the greatest creative forces of history.
No. B-477
Famous dates in history : a chronological history of the world. / by Rex. R. Eastman.
1949
Author(s): Eastman, Rex R.
No. B-500
True tales of buried treasure : famous, mysterious, and fascinating treasures / by T.D. Barrett.
1946
Author(s): Barrett, T. D.
No. B-532
Semen for sale : all about artificial insemination--how it's done. The $2,000 black market on babies. Test tube babies--latest
facts. Husbands for hire. Fathers by proxy, and a condensation of facts everyone wants to know. / by D.O. Cauldwell, M.D.,
Sc.D.
1947
Author(s): Cauldwell, David O. (David Oliver), 1896-
No. B-533
A book of popular superstitions : a study of humanity's capacity for wrong beliefs / Joseph McCabe.
[© 1932]
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
No. B-538
Perverted haters of sex : there are persons who hate sex walking among us every day--a candid study of a strange perversion / by
D.O. Cauldwell, M.D., Sc.D.
1947
Author(s): Cauldwell, David O. (David Oliver), 1896-
No. B-539
The menace of mysticisms : the place of bunk in the worlds of thought, emotion, and action--what it has done and is doing--what
it would mean in terms of human progress if we outgrew it / by Joseph McCabe.
1947
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
No. B-562
Easy lessons in practical psychoanalysis : a workable guide for the use of amateurs who want to understand themselves and
others better and thereby be happier / by D.O. Cauldwell, M.D., Sc.D.
1947
Author(s): Cauldwell, David O. (David Oliver), 1896-
No. B-566
Bundling : its origin, progress and decline in America / by Henry Reed Stiles, M.D. Introduction by A. F. Niemoeller.
1947
Author(s): Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909
No. B-567
Adventures in the realm of ideas : and other essays in the fields of philosophy, science, political economy, theology, humanism,
semantics, agnosticism, immortality and related subjects. / by Victor S. Yarros.
1947
Author(s): Yarros, Victor S.
No. B-571
Practical psychiatry for everyone : how to be your own mind doctor and solve mental health problems for yourself and others / by
D.O. Cauldwell, M.D., Sc.D.
1947
Author(s): Cauldwell, David O. (David Oliver), 1896-
No. B-577
Religion and crime : the anti-social results and debilitant influence of religious emotions and concepts / by Frank Swancara,
LL.B.
1947
Author(s): Swancara, Frank
No. B-580
The history and meaning of the Catholic index of forbidden books / Joseph McCabe.
[November 1931]
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
No. B-582
The story of the world's oldest profession : prostitution in the ancient, medieval and modern worlds / Joseph McCabe.
1932
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
No. B-595
Chastity safeguards : a study of the mechanical means of preventing sexual indulgence, in both men and women, employed in
different times and countries / by A.F. Niemoeller.
1947
Author(s): Niemoeller, A. F. (Adolph Fredrick), 1903-
No. B-597
Why sex offenders act that way : psychiatry shows that sex delinquents are desperately sick people / by D.O. Cauldwell, M.D.,
Sc.D.
1947
Author(s): Cauldwell, David O. (David Oliver), 1896-
No. B-599
The case for voluntary euthanasia : arguments in favor of merciful release from incurable suffering / A.L. Wolbarst, M.D.,
New York.
1947
Author(s): Wolbarst, A. L. (Abraham Leo), 1872-
Box 2
Big Blue Books Nos. B-600 to B-728
No. B-600
The problem of unwed fathers : a psychiatric study of a difficult situation, with sidelights on unmarried mothers and so-called
illegitimate children / By D.O. Cauldwell, M.D.
1947
Author(s): Cauldwell, David O. (David Oliver), 1896-
No. B-604
Universal circumcision as a hygienic measure : a complete survey of the subject from primitive days to the present / A.L.
Wolbarst, M.D., New York.
1947
Author(s): Wolbarst, A. L. (Abraham Leo), 1872-
No. B-608
The lies and fallacies of the Encyclopedia Britannica : how powerful and shameless clerical forces castrated a famous work
of reference / by Joseph McCabe.
1947
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
No. B-611
Doubting fathers---psychological and biological paternity : can science prove who is whose father? The psychology of parenthood,
with questions and answers / by D.O. Cauldwell, M.D.
1947
Author(s): Cauldwell, David O. (David Oliver), 1896-
No. B-613
Old age---its fears, its hopes : meeting the rising problems of declining years / by Estelle H. Ries.
1947
Author(s): Ries, Estelle H.
No. B-636
Eighty years a rebel : autobiography / by Joseph McCabe.
1947
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
No. B-662
All in the name of God / by W.R. Leigh.
1947
No. B 666
A giant's strength : a three-act drama of the atomic bomb / by Upton Sinclair.
1948
Author(s): Sinclair, Upton, 1878-1968
No. B-695
Essays in criticism and guidance : studies of current life, trends of thought, lines of action, criticisms of evils, and
guidance in the direction of realistic thinking and action / by E. Haldeman-Julius.
1948
Author(s): Haldeman-Julius, E. (Emanuel), 1888-1951
No. B-696
Why I am a nudist : how an ugly duckling became an accomplished beauty / as told by Nell Blank to D.O. Cauldwell, M.D.
1948
No. B-697
Life in a nudist camp / as told by Sarge Bank to D.O. Cauldwell, M.D.
1948
No. B-699
Now that you are middle aged : middle age is not a bogey sounding the death knell--it can be the prime of life / by D.O.
Cauldwell, M.D., Sc.D.
1948
Author(s): Cauldwell, David O. (David Oliver), 1896-
No. B-700
The dumbness of the great : a survey of the nonsense, absurdities, inconsistencies, illogicalities, inaccuracies, and idiocies
of the world's outstanding leaders / by Joseph McCabe.
1948
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
No. B-707
The encyclopedia of essential knowledge : volume 1 / by Joseph McCabe.
1948
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
Note: "A to C"
No. B-711
How to retire to the Ozarks : methods by which weary laborers, jaded businessmen, artists and others made a go of it on retiring
to work and play in this picturesque section / by William R. Draper.
1948
Author(s): Draper, William R.
No. B-725
The encyclopedia of essential knowledge : volume 2 / by Joseph McCabe.
1948
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
Note: "D to H"
No. B-728
Premature ejaculation---what to do about it : study of a condition common among men of all ages, with corrective methods
and reasons why they work / by D.O. Cauldwell, M.D., Sc.D.
1948
Author(s): Cauldwell, David O. (David Oliver), 1896-
Box 3
Big Blue Books Nos. B-733 to B-822
No. B-733
A history of the British secular movement / by John Edwin McGee.
1948
Author(s): McGee, John Edwin, 1893-
No. B-734
The encyclopedia of essential knowledge : volume 3 / by Joseph McCabe.
1948
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
Note: "I to O"
No. B-740
The encyclopedia of essential knowledge : volume 4 / by Joseph McCabe.
1948
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
Note: "P to Z"
No. B-746
Male sex habits : the meaning of the Kinsey report : the implications of the epochal "sexual behavior in the human male"--a
comprehensive and authoritative review / by D.O. Cauldwell. After Kinsey--what? / by George Russell Weaver.
1948
Author(s): Cauldwell, David O. (David Oliver), 1896- ; Weaver, George Russell
No. B-747
Nudism and the truth about nudists : an explanation of various aspects of social nudism, including an exhaustive criticism
of the Kinsey report on nudity. / by D.O. Cauldwell, M.D., Sc.D.
1948
Author(s): Cauldwell, David O. (David Oliver), 1896-
No. B-750
Positive and negative blood : the Rhesus factor : why so many women have abortions and stillbirths. New light on a little-understood
subject. Why so many mothers are able to have only one or two healthy babies / by D.O. Cauldwell, M.D., Sc.D.
1948
Author(s): Cauldwell, David O. (David Oliver), 1896-
No. B-751
The wisdom of the Chinese / selected, with an introduction, by Richard R. Bristol.
1948
Author(s): Bristol, Richard R.
No. B-764
The life story of Auguste Comte : the dramatic career of a great teacher, profound thinker and naïve character who tried
to take superstitious ideas out of religion / by F. J. Gould.
1948
Author(s): Gould, F. J. (Floyd Jerome), 1936-
No. B-766
The life-story of Ernest Renan : an estimate of the total work and personality of the thinker, scholar, historian and humorist
who was the most effective French influence since Voltaire / by J. M. Robertson.
1948
Author(s): Robertson, J. M. (John Mackinnon), 1856-1933
No. B-767
The epic of universal history : how the race became what it is / by Joseph McCabe.
1948
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
No. B-777
A guide to American spas : mineral springs and watering places : their beneficial influences in health recuperation / A.
Strachstein, M.D., New York.
1948
Author(s): Strachstein, Abraham, 1881-
No. B-780
This world of 1949 and what do about it : revised letters to a workingman on the economic and political situation / by Upton
Sinclair.
[1948?]
Author(s): Sinclair, Upton, 1878-1968
No. B-782
The evolution of the virtue of chastity : an examination of the origin, development and historical operation of the law of
sexual purity / by Joseph McCabe.
1948
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
No. B-789
The history of torture : a study of cruelty, the ugliest impulse in man / by Joseph McCabe.
1949
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
No. B 790
A history of Freemasonry : the story of its relations with Satan and the Popes / by Joseph McCabe.
1949
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
No. B-795
Sunbathing and nudism : benefits and injurious effects. How to guard against overexposure : why do some practice nudism?
Do nudists use sunbathing as a pretense to cover up exhibitionism / by A. Strachstein, M.D. New York.
1949
Author(s): Strachstein, Abraham, 1881-
No. B-799
The amazing career of the Marquis de Sade : a study of the character and views of the man whose fantastic works gave rise
to the word sadism / by Joseph McCabe.
1949
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
No. B 802
Confessions of a journalist : articles on what's wrong with the U.S. press, followed by editorials on subjects of public
interest / by Victor S. Yarros (author of "Adventures in the realm of ideas.").
1949
Author(s): Yarros, Victor S.
No. B 812
The Catholic Church and the sex problem : the stupidity, futility, and insolence of its ethic / by Joseph McCabe.
1949
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
No. B-815
Pessimism and optimism : fresh treatment of an old subject / by Victor S. Yarros.
1949
Author(s): Yarros, Victor S.
No. B-817
Why be a nudist? : the intelligent, delightful and uninhibited may be nudists just for fun, or the hell of it / by D.O. Cauldwell,
M.D., Sc.D.
1949
Author(s): Cauldwell, David O. (David Oliver), 1896-
No. B-822
The art of preserving one's manhood : as virility is inherent, no man should be a sexual weakling or failure, for virile
powers can be made to respond at will / by D.O. Cauldwell, M.D., Sc.D.
1949
Author(s): Cauldwell, David O. (David Oliver), 1896-
Box 4
Big Blue Books Nos. B-828 to B-940
No. B-828
Why must we fight Russia? / by Alanson E. Sessions and miscellaneous articles by Clay Fulks, Dr. B. Liber, and others.
1949
Author(s): Sessions, Alanson E.
No. B-832
Scientific humanism as creative morality / by Oliver L. Reiser, Ph.D., professor of philosophy, University of Pittsburgh.
Comments on professor Reiser's new scientific humanism by Joseph McCabe.
1949
Author(s): Reiser, Oliver Leslie, 1895-1974 ; McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
No. B-833
Sexual rejuvenation as a problem of science : a study of the work of scientists to extend man's capacity for sex well into
old age / by Joseph McCabe.
1949
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
No. B 835
Masochism, and how it manifests itself : a study of Sacher-Masoch, known as "the great abnormal," who gave his name to a
strange form of behavior--its prevalence and psychology / by Joseph McCabe.
1949
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
No. B-841
The inconsistencies and contradictions of Jesus : and other studies and reviews / by Victor S. Yarros.
1949
Author(s): Yarros, Victor S.
No. B-849
Masterpieces of erotic literature : a study of the outstanding works and sensuality in ancient, medieval and modern times / by
Joseph McCabe.
1949
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
No. B-851
Christianity, a continuing calamity / by Clay Fulks and other articles by Mordecai T. Heller, E. Haldeman-Julius, H.G. Hayes,
Jay William Hudson, John D. McInerney and Oliver L. Reiser Ph.D.
1950
No. B-852
A study of American mental shortcomings : based mainly on personal experiences and other facts / by B. Liber, M.D., New York.
1950
Author(s): Liber, B. (Benzion), 1875-
No. B-865
The myth of Catholic scholarship : the absurdities, falsehoods and distortions of the Catholic encyclopedia / by Joseph McCabe.
1950
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
No. B-870
Questions and answers on sex and the American attitude : press reports, magazines, books, letters and other sources have
been combed for the data included in this book. Reflected are attitudes toward sex in its biological, legal, economic, social
and various other aspects / by D.O. Cauldwell, M.D.
1950
Author(s): Cauldwell, David O. (David Oliver), 1896-
No. B-877
Cybernetics---the new science of the electronic and the human brain / by Joseph McCabe.
1950
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
No. B-878
Rome's syllabus of condemned opinions : the last blast of the Catholic Church's medieval trumpet / by Joseph McCabe.
1950
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
No. B-883
A popular author on reviewers, publishers and reading habits : along with numerous articles on the passing show by Howard
Fast, Freda Cook, C.A. Willis, Bertrand Russell, Dr. E.H.S. Burhop, John D. McInerney, B. Liber, Ruby Davis, Joseph Efries,
Paul Eldridge, John W. Gunn, H.G. Hayes / by Jack Woodford.
1950
Author(s): Woodford, Jack, 1894-1971
No. 887
Priapic divinities and phallic rites : a complete account of the worship of Priapus throughout the ages / by J. A. Dulaure.
1950
Author(s): Dulaure, J.-A. (Jacques-Antoine), 1755-1835
No. 890
Michel de Montaigne, skeptic and atheist : the wisest Frenchman who was a Jew / by Paul Eldridge.
1950
Author(s): Eldridge, Paul, 1888-1982
No. 892
Socialism and superior brains : a reply to Mr. W.H. Mallock / by Bernard Shaw.
[1950]
Author(s): Shaw, Bernard, 1856-1950
No. 893
Anatole France, master of irony and pity : how an unkempt loafer became a world genius because he allowed himself to be led
by the nose by his rich and attractive mistress / by Paul Eldridge.
1950
Author(s): Eldridge, Paul, 1888-1982
No. 898
The Mangasarian-Crapsey debate on the question, "did Jesus ever live?"
[1950]
Author(s): Crapsey, Algernon Sidney, 1847-1927 ; Mangasarian, M. M. (Mangasar Mugurditch), 1859-1943
No. 911
Judged! : what 500 of the world's outstanding figures--in all forms of literary, historical, intellectual, humanitarian,
artistic and political activity--have said about the Roman Catholic Church / by Joseph McCabe.
1950
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
No. 918
The origin and meaning of ideas : a study of the historical sources of our major ideas in religion, science, government,
education morals, economics, etc., their influences for good or bad, and the future possibilities of our thinking / by Joseph
McCabe.
1951
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
No. B-938
History's greatest liars : how "new historians" falsified and suppressed the truth at the behest of church interests / by
Joseph McCabe.
1951
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
No. B-939
The Columbia encyclopedia's crimes against the truth : how a popular reference work is being used as a weapon against free
culture and twisted to fit the purposes of lying obscurantists / by Joseph McCabe.
1951
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955
No. B-940
A book of popular fallacies : lies in generally accepted quotations and proverbs / by Joseph McCabe.
1951
Author(s): McCabe, Joseph, 1867-1955