KARL A. MENNINGER - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 12/09/1977 - HFSID 324310

KARL A. MENNINGER
The famed psychiatrist responds to a man wanting a letter for his niece foretelling what her future might be like, claiming "he is not a prophet nor the son of a prophet", and he could not possibly answer such a question. Signs his name in blue ink
Autograph letter signed: "Karl A. Menninger" in blue ink. 2 pages, 7¼x10¼. Addressed to young Ms. Lisa Robley, as a response to her uncle Michael Hurwitz' request of predictions for the future, to be given to her on her 21st birthday. December 9, 1977. In full: "Thank you the implied compliment of you [over] request, but I am not a prophet nor the son of a prophet & I could not presume to write a really thoughtful letter of prediction." Karl Menninger (1893-1990) the son of psychiatrist Charles Frederick Menninger and brother of psychiatrist William Menninger (the first psychiatrist to be featured on the cover of "Time" magazine), co-founded the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas with his father in 1919. They were joined by William in 1925, the year that the Menninger's had raised enough support to build the Menninger Sanitorium. The Menninger Foundation was founded in 1941 and quickly became a major U.S. psychiatric and psychoanalytic center. Menninger is credited with crusading against the stigma of mental illness and bringing an understanding of psychiatry to the public, largely through his writings, including The Human Mind (1930), the first of Menninger's 14 books. The book, written for fellow mental health professionals, was a popular success as well. Menninger was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981. Edges lightly frayed. Stray ink mark on top left margin. Normal mailing folds. Slightly creased. Otherwise, fine condition.