TLS signed “Yours sincerely, Alexander Graham Bell,” one page, 8 x 10.5, Beinn Bhreagh letterhead, November 27, 1907. Letter to controversial eugenicist G. B. L. Arner, in part: "I hope you will continue your researches concerning the results of 'Consanguineous Marriages' as the whole subject is of immense importance. My studies have related chiefly to 'Consanguineous Marriages' in their relation to Deafness, and my data are on file in the Volta Bureau, For the Increase and Diffusion of Knowledge Relating to the Deaf…You can obtain copies of the following works having a bearing on your subject. (1) 'Marriage' an Address to the Deaf, by Alexander Graham Bell. (2). Special Report on the Deaf of the United States, in the Census of 1900, prepared for the United States Census Bureau by Alexander Graham Bell. (3) 'Marriages of the Deaf in America' by Dr. Edward Allen Fay." In very good to fine condition, with a few small stains, and two small areas of paper loss, one of which slightly affects the first name of the signature.
Having several family members who were deaf—including his mother and wife—Bell's primary scientific goal was to develop equipment to assist the hearing-impaired, with the telephone and the microphone initially conceived for that very purpose. The devices were also a reflection and continuation of the work long performed by his father with deaf-mutes. In 1890, more than a decade after he received a US patent for his invention, Bell established the American Association to Promote the Teaching of Speech to the Deaf, with the objective of promoting oral communication. In this letter, he comments on the higher prevalence of deafness in children of couples descending from a common ancestor. The effect of consanguinity on hereditary deafness has been well studied and documented, but it remains an area of research to this day.
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