Studies in the Psychology of Sex was published in seven volumes between 1897 and 1928, beginning with Sexual Inversion (co-authored with John Addington Symonds) published in Leipzig because no English publisher would touch it. The work represents the first comprehensive attempt to study human sexuality scientifically in the English language, treating sexual behavior as a natural phenomenon to be observed and classified rather than a moral failing to be condemned.
The first volume’s publication history illustrates the cultural resistance Ellis faced. Sexual Inversion argued that homosexuality was congenital rather than acquired, natural rather than pathological — a position that was medically radical and legally dangerous in 1897 England, where homosexual acts were criminal. The book was prosecuted for obscenity in England, and the remaining volumes were published only in the United States, available by subscription to medical professionals.
Ellis’s method was empirical: he collected case histories, corresponded with subjects, and drew on anthropological and literary evidence to build his arguments. His tone was deliberately clinical — avoiding both the moralistic condemnation of his predecessors and the prurient titillation that the subject matter invited. This clinical approach allowed him to discuss subjects (masturbation, fetishism, the physiology of arousal, sexual behavior in women) that had never been discussed in print with scientific seriousness.
The seven volumes cover: Sexual Inversion (homosexuality); The Evolution of Modesty, The Phenomena of Sexual Periodicity, Auto-Erotism; Analysis of the Sexual Impulse, Love and Pain, The Sexual Impulse in Women; Sexual Selection in Man; Erotic Symbolism, The Mechanism of Detumescence, The Psychic State in Pregnancy; Sex in Relation to Society.
Collecting Studies in the Psychology of Sex
First editions (Various publishers, 1897–1928): The publication history is complex, with different volumes published by different houses.
Market values:
- Complete seven-volume set (F.A. Davis, Philadelphia): $800–$2,500
- First volume, Sexual Inversion (Leipzig, 1897): $1,000–$3,000 (extremely rare)
- Later Random House collected edition (1936, 2 vols): $100–$300
- Individual later volumes: $40–$150