MARGARET SANGER [ca. 1950] Portrait

[Tucson, AZ: Floyd L. Wilson, ca. 1950]. Vintage original 8 x 10″ (20 x 25 cm) black-and-white glossy silver gelatin photo. Fine.

Margaret Sanger (1879-1966) was an American birth control activist, sex educator, writer and nurse. She opened the first birth control clinic in the United States, founded Planned Parenthood, and was instrumental in the development of the first birth control pill. Early in her campaign Sanger and her sister Byrne were charged with distributing contraceptives in violation of New York state law. They went to trial on 29 January 1917. Byrne was convicted and sentenced to 30 days in a workhouse, where she went on a hunger strike. Margaret’s activism directly targeted the Comstock Laws, which made it illegal to disseminate birth control information. In her later years, Margaret Sanger remained actively involved in the birth control movement, even after officially retiring in 1942 and moving to Tucson, Arizona. She continued to advocate for the development of the birth control pill, which was eventually released in 1960. (Wikipedia)

This portrait is dated ca. 1950 and ink stamped on verso with copyright and credit for photographer Floyd C. Wilson, Tucson, Arizona.