Theodoor Hendrik van de Velde

The Dutch physician and gynæcologist Theodoor Hendrik van de Velde (1873 - 1937) served as Director at the Gynæcological Institute in Haarlem, the Netherlands. His 1926 book Het volkomen huwelijk (The Perfect Marriage) made him an instant international celebrity. The book advocated knowledge and sensuality in erotic life. In Germany Die vollkommene Ehe reached its 42nd printing in 1932 in spite of the fact that it was placed on the list of forbidden books, Index librorum prohibitorum by the Roman Catholic Church. In protestantic and socialistic Sweden, Det fulländade äktenskapet was widely known although regarded as pornographic and unsuitable for young readers long into the 1960s.