Iwan Bloch was a German dermatologist and psychiatrist. Born in Delmenhorst, Grand Ducal Oldenburg, Germany, he is often called the first sexologist. He discovered the Marquis de Sade's manuscript of The 120 Days of Sodom, which had been believed to be lost, and published it under the pseudonymEugène Dühren in 1904. In 1899 he had published Marquis de Sade: his life and works. under the same pseudonym. Together with Magnus Hirschfeld and Albert Eulenburg, Bloch proposed the new concept of a science of sexuality: Sexualwissenschaft or sexology. In 1906 he wrote in German the book Das Sexualleben unserer Zeit in seinen Beziehungen zur modernen Kultur which was translated as The Sexual Life of our Time in its Relations to Modern Civilization, a complete encyclopedia of the sexual sciences in their relation to modern civilization.
Legacy
According to Sigmund Freud, Bloch's studies were instrumental in the development of the anthropological approach to the theory of sexuality. Before Bloch, homosexuality was analyzed using a pathological approach.
''Handbook of Sexology'' and other works
Iwan Bloch began the publication of his "Handbuch der gesamten Sexualwissenschaft in Einzeldarstellungen". Three volumes appeared, the project was aborted because of Bloch's untimely death at age 50.
Handbuch der Gesamten Sexualwissenschaft in Einzeldarstellungen. Bd. 1, Bd. 2. pt. 1, Bd. 3. Berlin: Louis Marcus, 1912–25
Das Geschlechtsleben in England, mit besonderer Beziehung auf London; Eugen Dühren . 3 vols. Berlin: H. Barsdorf M. Lilienthal, 1901-03. Contents:- I. Die beiden Erscheinungsformen des Sexuallebens. Die Ehe und die Prostitution.--II-III. Der Einfluss äusserer Faktoren auf das Geschlechtsleben in England.--IV. Das Geschlechtsleben in England
Beiträge zur Aetiologie der "Psychopathia sexualis"
Englische Sittengeschichte
Der Fetischismus
Irrungen menschlicher Liebe
Der Marquis de Sade und seine Zeit. Ein Beitrag zur Cultur- und Sittengeschichte des 18. Jahrhunderts. Mit besonderer Beziehung auf die Lehre von der Psychopathia Sexualis 1900, as Eugen Dühren. 1. Aufl. Barsdorf, Berlin 1900; Max von Harrwitz, Berlin 1904; 5. Aufl. Barsdorf, Berlin 1915 Altogether 7 editions in his lifetime. Reissued 1978: Heyne, München
*in English : Marquis de Sade. His life and his works; translated by James Bruce. Castle/ Book Sales, NY 1948 Also French and Spanish translations.
Neue Forschungen über den Marquis de Sade und seine Zeit. Mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Sexualphilosophie de Sade's auf Grund des neuentdeckten Original-Manuskriptes seines Hauptwerkes ; reprint 1965; and again by VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, Saarbrücken, 2007
