Three Contributions to the Sexual Theory, By Prof. Sigmund Freud, LL. D., Vienna, Published New York, The Journal of Mental Disease Publishing Company, 1910, with library stamp for University College London and Welcome Institute Library, later binding with book plate that reads ‘This book was given to the Thane Library of Medical Sciences at University College London by Mrs Woollard in March 1939 in Memory of Herbert Henry Woollard, F.R.S. Professor of Anatomy, 1936-39

Three Contributions to the Sexual Theory - this English translation of Freud’s work is based on the first iteration of his Theory of Sexuality, which is of the same level of importance as The Interpretation of Dreams. Freud developed and amended the Theory of Sexuality throughout the course of his professional career, and in this version you can read his earliest thoughts. For collectors of Freud’s work, it will be easy to see the development of his theories between The Interpretation of Dreams and this first version of Three Contributions to Sexual Theory. Interestingly, Herbert Henry Woollard, in whose memory this copy was gifted to University College London, was one of the foremost anatomical scientists of his day. It perhaps shows the significance of this book at the time, that it was gifted by his wife Mary Woollard (née Howard).

Freud, Sigmund, (1856-1939) is most famous for founding psychoanalysis. Freud’s theories and therapeutic techniques led to much of the psychology we see today. Indeed, several branches of psychology are directly attributable to Freud’s work, including dream interpretation, talking therapies, and false memory creation, among others. Although the psychosexual emphasis of his work is discredited in the modern day, Freud identified many of the relationships between the different facets of the human psyche and the world around us.