First edition of this important work on Down syndrome. Inscribed in German by the author Clemens E. Benda giving his wife Elizabeth the first copy of his new book. The 28 word inscription penned by Benda on the front endpaper concludes: "das erste Exemplar des neuer Buches". The author's ownership stamp "Clemens E. Benda, M.D. Wrentham, Mass." is stamped in blue at the top right of the front endpaper.
Considered the authority Down syndrome, which was then referred to as "Mongolism", Dr. Clemens E. Benda (1898-1975) was recognized as an internationally known expert on "mental deficiency". Benda argued for an end to "artificial distinctions between mental defect and mental illness" and believed that "so-called mentally deficient children are often the victims of unfair and unjust discrimination". Born in Berlin where he received his medical degree, Benda worked as a psychiatrist at the Binswanger Sanitarium in Switzerland. He moved to the U.S. as a research fellow at Harvard Medical School, eventually teaching at both Harvard and the University of Munich. Benda was also director of research and psychiatry for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Walter E. Fernald School, and the Wrentham State School in Massachusetts. Very good .
Keywords: MEDICINE; MEDICAL; PSYCHIATRY; DOWN SYNDROME; DR. CLEMENS E. BENDA; PSYCHIATRIST; MONGOLISM AND CRETINISM; A STUDY OF THE CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS AND THE GENERAL PATHOLOGY OF PITUITARY AND THYROID DEFICIENCY; FIRST EDITION; TWENTIETH CENTURY; 20TH CENTURY