Two ALSs signed “Ben Spock,” three total pages, 8.5 x 7.75 and 8.5 x 11, dated January 12, 1992 and February 10, 1992. Both handwritten letters are to Stephen Yoken. The earlier, in part: “The strongest influence that got me into pediatrics, I’m sure, was my identification with my mother, who loved babies. I was the oldest of six children, and the oldest is most apt to make an extra-strong identification with a parent. I fed lots of bottles and changed many diapers. During my summer vacations while I was in college I worked as a boys’ counsellor in a crippled children’s home in Newington, Conn., and watched a surgeon repair the ankle of a child who had had polio. I thought it would be satisfying to be a children’s doctor, and applied for admission to the Yale Medical School.” The second letter begins with Spock noting that his favorite book is Baby and Child Care “because it has sold 40 million copies and been translated in 39 languages,” and then affirming that the most common question from new parents is “Why is the baby crying? If it’s time for another feeding (2 to 4 hours), that’s the answer. But for most crying and fussing I don’t know the answer.” In overall fine condition. Accompanied by the original mailing envelopes.
