[ONEIDA COMMUNE] NOYES, John Humphrey

Male Continence:

Oneida, NY: Office of the American Socialist, 1877. Third edition (though stated second). Octavo (22cm). Printed pale green wrappers; 32pp. A fresh, apparently uncirculated copy, Near Fine.

A singular aspect of Noyes's Pefectionist philosophy, as practiced by his followers at the Oneida commune, was the sanctification of the human sexual bond through the practice of "male continence," i.e. coitus reservatus, or the withholding of the male orgasm during intercourse. The current pamphlet falls somewhat short of elucidating technique (at least to the satisfaction of the uninitiated reader), but does provide, at some length, Noyes's Biblical justifications and his defense of the practice. The first edition appeared in 1866, with the full title, Male Continence: or, Self-Control in Sexual Intercourse. That title having drawn the attention of Noyes's censors, all of the sub-title was dropped from the second edition of 1872 and third edition of 1877 – save the semi-colon, which remained, a mysterious punctuational ghost, or vain apostle; universal symbol of something more to come.

Full disclosure: we are in possession of a substantial remainder of this edition.

Price: $25.00

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