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Society for Suppression of Vice. A.L.S. of no

Currency:USD Category:Antiques Start Price:25.00 USD Estimated At:50.00 - 75.00 USD
Society for Suppression of Vice. A.L.S. of no
Society for Suppression of Vice. A.L.S. of noted crusader Anthony Comstock, on pictorial letterhead of "New York Society for the Suppression of Vice," Nov. 24, 1893, 8 1/2 x 1 1, to Hon. Clinton Merriam, Locust Grove, N.Y. "I beg to acknowledge with thanks, your esteemed favor...enclosing pictures...Can you give the address of party sending such matters out...The good work goes bravely on. The present year has been most important." Large woodcut shows man being pushed into a jail cell, as another in top hat feeds books to a fire. A campaigner against obscenity, including what had long been considered classical art, by 1891 Comstock added pursuit of "vampire literature," his term for dime novels, which he contended drove young readers to lives of crime. From 1873 to 1915 he held the title of Special Agent of the U.S. Post Office, with broad powers to prosecute violators of the indecency law. Fine and scarce.