There were no accurate testing methods decades ago.....let alone testing methods in the 1940's
Serum Testosterone Assays—Accuracy Matters (2004)
The routine clinical use of T assays began approximately 30 yr ago with the development of RIAs for T that could be performed on relatively small quantities of blood after organic extraction and chromatographic separation (1). Subsequently, there have been remarkable advancements in immunoassays for T as well as other hormones. Compared with original RIAs, T assays of today are more sensitive and specific, require smaller quantities of serum, do not involve extraction or chromatography, and are performed more rapidly and with less cost. In most large clinical chemistry and many reference laboratories, T assays are performed routinely on automated platforms using nonradioactive meth
http://eknygos.lsmuni.lt/springer/516/63-72.pdf
The first RIA method, developed in 1959 by Yallow and Berson (1,2), was for insulin. Ten years later, Abraham (3) reported the development of the first steroid RIA, which was for estradiol (E2). The immediate impact of the RIA method allowed measurement of an immensely wide range of compounds of clinical and biological importance and opened new horizons in endocrinology.
I also have seen mention (assume this is estimated) that slim tradesmen as recent as a hundred years ago had levels up to the 2000 range.
-that would be based off he said/she said!
