At the October 2009 Women's Visionary Congress (WVC), Erowid was given a copy of a rare 1971 reference book titled A Bibliography of L.S.D. & Mescaline: From the Earliest Researches to the Beginnings of Suppression (view PDF) by Oscar Janiger, MD & Gertrude Paltin, MS. Although it features the imprint of the Fitz Hugh Ludlow Memorial Library, the manuscript was never actually published. According to Michael Horowitz, cofounder of the Fitz Hugh Ludlow Memorial Library, Janiger and Paltin wanted the Library to publish the book. William Dailey, a printer and rare book dealer as well as the Library's director, designed the title page. (Press of the Pegacycle Lady was Dailey's imprint, featured on the verso of the book's title page.) The bibliography was to be the first Ludlow Library publication. However, due to a lack of finances the project never got off the ground, and the book only saw limited, private distribution.

In early 2005, in the course of researching the history of LSD in a rare books room, a scholar who was friends with Gertrude Paltin's daughter Sharon brought the book to her attention. Prior to this point, she had not been aware of her mother's bibliographical contribution to the literature of LSD and mescaline. Sharon Paltin, MD, began making copies of the 103-page book available to researchers and medical libraries at no cost. Her hope has been that the references compiled by her mother and Janiger can provide a bridge between the early body of knowledge and research and current and future work in this field.

Gertrude Paltin, MS, later Gertrude Sussman, was born in Philadelphia, the daughter of Jewish Russian immigrants. A graduate of Temple University, she was a biochemist, avid crafter, Girl Scout troop leader, wife and mother. According to Samuel Paltin, MD—Gertrude's first husband—Gertrude was Janiger's Executive Secretary. Along with organizational tasks and typing, Gertrude also participated in the early experimentation with LSD. Samuel Paltin believes that the bibliography was completed some years prior to the 1971 date on the overleaf, and the most recent year cited within it is 1963.

A large number of the publications cited in Janiger and Paltin's bibliography are available via The Albert Hofmann Collection: LSD & Psilocybin References. As the bibliography is predominantly in English—with translated titles of many papers that were originally published in German, French, or Italian—Erowid will be able to add English title translations to existing entries in The Albert Hofmann Collection, where applicable.