Journal of the History of Collections 9 no 1 (1997) pp 139-159

MARKED PHRENOLOGICAL HEADS

Their evolution, with particular reference to the influence of and the Phrenological Society of

M. H. KAUFMAN AND N. BASDEN Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jhc/article/9/1/139/767414 by guest on 28 September 2021

Franz Joseph Gall created the science oforganology on which was based; the latter being promulgated by Johann Gaspar Spurzhetm. In the British Isles phrenology was championed by George Combe who co-founded the Phrenological Society in Edinburgh m 1820. Phrenological or marked busts were produced as one of the keys to understanding phrenology, and were useful m identifying the relative positions of the phrenological 'organs'. Because the evidences of phrenology were gained by subjective and personal observation, a great number of conflicting or conjectural views arose. The busts at any one time or from any one individual clearly exhibit such changes m phrenological optmon. Here we shall consider the influences acting upon the phrenological bust with especial reference to George Combe and the Phrenological Society. More precisely we will illustrate these changes by examining examples surviving from the Phrenological Society's museum — now part of the William Ramsay Henderson Trust collection, supplemented by illustrations of several important items from other collections.

The museum collection of the Edinburgh Miscellany (later the Phrenological Journal and Maga- Phrenological Society zine of Moral Science). The latter ran from 1838 to 1847 and was established, with financial support from THE collection of marked phrenological heads dis- the Henderson Trust, to stimulate debate, publicize played in the museum of the Department of Ana- the activities of the membership and to provide a tomy, , is of particular forum to propagate the gospel of Phrenology. interest, as the busts in it follow exclusively the As a consequence of the enthusiasm of its founder nomenclature adopted by the Edinburgh School of members, the museum collection of the Society Phrenology, being based on the early schemes pub- eventually contained more than 2,500 items, many lished by Gall and Spurzheim. They, with about 300 of which are of the greatest interest in relation to the life and death masks of famous and infamous indi- emergence and early history of phrenology. The viduals, and other items of phrenological interest, are present Henderson Trust collection still contains the property of the William Ramsay Henderson the 300 life and death masks indicated above, repre- Trust. These items formerly belonged to the Edin- senting about one-third of the original number burgh Phrenological Society and had been exhibited formerly displayed in the museum of the Phrenolo- in their museum. gical Society, about 250 casts of skulls (mostly copies Founded in 1820, this was the first phrenological of items in the Musee de l'Homme in ), society to be established in the United Kingdom, and hundreds of human crania, now incorporated into by 1823, the Society had already amassed sufficient the Department's mainly anthropological collection, items relating to phrenology to justify the establish- as well as the crania of numerous non-human species, ment of a museum for their display. The principal also now incorporated into the department's com- parative collection. functions of the museum were to facilitate teaching and research, and both a lending and a reference library were available for the benefit of the members. Early representations: Gall and Spurzheim The Transactions of the Edinburgh Phrenological Society were published in 1823. This was followed The earliest record of any representation of the in 1824 (until 1837) by the Phrenological Journal and phrenological organs is provided by Franz Joseph

© Oxford University Press 1997 0954-6650 97 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jhc/article/9/1/139/767414 by guest on 28 September 2021 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jhc/article/9/1/139/767414 by guest on 28 September 2021 142 M. H. KAUFMAN AND N. BASDEN

System adopted by Names 'New' numbers 'Old' numbers Gall & Spurzheim

I Propensities Amativeness i 1 1 Philoprogenitiveness 2 2 2 Inhabitiveness 3 3 Adhesiveness 4 4 3 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jhc/article/9/1/139/767414 by guest on 28 September 2021 Combativeness 5 5 4 Destructiveness 6 6 5 Alimentiveness unnumbered, + or 6a Secretiveness 7 9 6 Acquisitiveness 8 8 7 Constructiveness 9 7 19 II Sentiments Self-Esteem 10 10 8 Love of Approbation II 11 9 Cautiousness 12 12 10 Benevolence 13 13 24 l Veneration 4 14 26 Firmness 15 18 27 Conscientiousness 16 17 Hope 17 15 Marvellousness 18 Ideality 19 16 23 Gaiety or Mirthfulness 20 32 22 (Wit) Imitation 21 33 25

Intellectual faculties I Perceptive Individuality 22 19 11 Configuration 23 20 13 (Form) Size 24 21 Weight and Resistance 25 22 Colouring 26 23 16 Locality 27 24 12 Calculation 28 27 18 (Number) Order 29 25 Eventuality 3° 11 Time 31 26 Melody 32 28 17 (Tune) Language 33 29 H, 15 II Reflective Comparison 34 3° 20 Causality 35 3i 21

TABLE I A companson between the 1824 'new' version of the numbering of the phrenological organs and the 1815 'old' version, both nomenclatures as recommended by Dr Spurzheim with the earlier version of Gall & Spurzheim (1810), with English version of contemporary terminology in parentheses. The English names were given by Dr Spurzheim Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jhc/article/9/1/139/767414 by guest on 28 September 2021 144 M. H. KAUFMAN AND N. BASDEN primary use of these busts was as a teaching or Conviction is greatly strengthened by observing the same learning aid for ardent students of phrenology or forms in nature that appear on the casts, and this cannot those curious to test its claims. Hewett C. Watson in happen to those who use M. De Ville's busts, as the forms his Statistics of Phrenology12 exhorted: 'let the student in these are entirely artificial. keep a marked bust frequently before his eyes, so as to And the coup de grace: become quite familiar with the relevant position ... of each organ', and James DeVille advised those begin- We repeat, that we have a sincere respect for M. De Ville, ning in the science to 'get a mapped phrenological and entertain a high sense of the services rendered by him bust with a good manual or elementary work as a key to Phrenology. Let him, however, not pass beyond his 13 sphere, and forbear diminishing with one hand the good he

to the science'. After the positions of the organs had Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jhc/article/9/1/139/767414 by guest on 28 September 2021 been consigned to memory, collections of casts of is doing with the other. This admonition is offered in perfect respect and kindness, and we know his good sense different individuals could be obtained as an aid to so well, that we do not doubt that it will be taken in equal being able to discern the organs in a living head. good part on his side.16 In view of the fact that the London phrenologists Edinburgh's authority and influence all but ignored the Phrenological Journal, it is doubt- In the early years the Edinburgh phrenologists ful whether this outburst had any effect on DeVille's assumed a position of authority stemming from standing in London. This fact may have been made their own head-start in the science and their apparent to Combe when, in 1837, a Mr E. J Hytch undoubted diligence. They duly set themselves up, wrote from London complaining of the 'variety of therefore, 'to watch over all phrenological doctrine, busts which constantly meet the observer's eye - all H of which agree in one quality alone, and that is to and to maintain its philosophical purity' 17 However, on this issue, it is apparent that Edin- differ from one another'. Amidst this confusion, burgh's authority was more locally circumscribed however, he admits that, 'it is true that if the bust is purchased of Mr Deville, there is some probability than Combe or his supporters desired. The London ls phrenologists in particular, although showing respect that it will be correct . .' Hytch received a reply through correspondence and exchange of casts, from Combe himself who although agreeing with tended to exist in isolation and practically ignored him that such a problem existed, was somewhat the Edinburgh-based Phrenological Journal, writing indignant that he may have overlooked the 'demerits' for journals published in the capital instead. of DeVille's bust and that he took 'no notice of the existence of the Edinburgh bust'19 Although Combe The relationship between Edinburgh and London grudgingly includes DeVille's bust alongside that was never more than cordial. As early as 1824, both from Edinburgh as being traceable to an 'authentic James DeVille and his phrenological bust had come source' there is little doubt that, even at this late under severe criticism from Edinburgh. Reviewing stage, he had not changed his low opinion of DeVille his Outlines of Phrenology the editors of the Phreno- or his handiwork. logical Journal whilst 'embracing this opportunity of expressing our high opinion of M. DeVille's Phreno- The London and Edinburgh societies came into logy', regretted that they could not 'extend this full-blown conflict in the 1830s. The London Socie- commendation to the little work . . published by ty's founder Dr John Elliotson had quarrelled first him as an accompaniment to his busts'.15 Having with DeVille and then openly with Spurzheim and condemned the book, the author of the review then Combe. Eventually, he reverted to the doctrines of continues to destroy DeVille's busts: Gall, having derided Spurzheim and Gall's 'degen- erate disciples' in Edinburgh for trivializing the In them the organs are not marked in the same manner as founder's theories and declared Spurzheim's on the busts used by Drs Gall and Spurzheim. The improvements to be 'deteriorations'. Then, using founders of the science state that each organ has received every weapon at his disposal, he recommended a particular shape from nature, and that, in marking the DeVille's writings over those of Combe, and encour- busts, they have copied these forms as accurately as aged DeVille from that time to produce busts accord- possible Now M. De Ville, in his busts, has indicated merely the position of each organ by a small circle, and has ing to Gall's arrangement and numbering. not given the forms or dimensions of them as they appear With the above in mind, it is perhaps not surpris- in nature It will be more difficult to become a practical ing that only one of DeVille's busts ever found its phrenologist by means of his than by the older busts way into the Edinburgh Phrenological Society's THE EVOLUTION OF MARKED PHRENOLOGICAL HEADS 145 collection: this also means, however, that we have no The problem was further exacerbated by the fact clear picture of what manner of busts DeVille was that every agency which published busts described its producing at any one time and how they were own version as the latest and best-constructed so far affected by external influences. Further, it may be published. Many members of the general public concluded, that O'Neil's busts were not well known simply lacked a sufficient grasp of phrenology with in London at all; it is probable that DeVille satisfied which to make a suitably discerning purchase, and much of the demand for authentic busts in the although even the editor of the Phrenological Journal capital. in 1838 stated that 'the majority of the busts sold in The schism between London and Edinburgh was London are exceedingly faulty',24 it is likely that few an extreme case, but individualism was apparent heard his warning. Combe, so far-removed from the Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jhc/article/9/1/139/767414 by guest on 28 September 2021 throughout mainstream phrenology. This was scene, could do little about this situation apart from partly due to the fact that phrenologists tended to console himself with the thought that these unscru- be scattered in small numbers throughout the United pulous agencies and their inaccurate busts were not Kingdom with little communication between them. truly representative of phrenology itself. Isolated but zealous, these phrenologists and societies tended to act autonomously. Although they may have acknowledged Edinburgh and Combe to be the Influences and changes before phrenology's undisputed leaders in phrenology and referred to decline Combe's works, nevertheless as other individuals After Spurzheim introduced phrenology to the Brit- became established as leading phrenologists in their ish Isles there were few new discoveries or proofs. own parts of the country, they simply turned to them This must have surprised some phrenologists, for for advice and bought the busts that they produced. Gall himself fully expected that others after him Of those who emerged as leading figures in their own would make new discoveries and add to his list of regions and who published busts which were deemed organs and Combe, in the preface of his System of 'acceptable' the following are known: William Bally Phrenology in 1843,25 was still of the opinion that not of Manchester; Cornelius Donovan and A. L. Vago of all of the organs had been discovered. And yet, in London; John L Levison of Hull; and Frederick mainstream phrenology at least, there were few Bridges of Liverpool. Other busts produced by changes to the acknowledged list of bona fide organs phrenologists, but of which we have found no com- One of the contributory factors which prohibited ment on their merits, include the Mancunian E. T. additions was undoubtedly Spurzheim's arrangement Craig's 'Divisional Bust', the 'Palladian Bust' of Mr which, unlike Gall's (and save for one organ marked Akin, of Bath, and one published by a 'Francisco 20 as 'Unascertained'), left no part of the head unac- Mitchelelle' of Pathhead near Edinburgh counted for. But it is also a fact that Spurzheim's Although even these phrenologists may have sub- account of the discoveries of the organs and the mitted more readily to Edinburgh or Combe, it is supposed record of numerous cases which bolstered quite clear that there were many who did not. This his and Gall's claims were accepted, in many cases, became especially apparent when phrenology reached without trial. If individual phrenologists ever the zenith of its popularity during the 1830s and thought about trying to discover new organs they when, in London, phrenological busts were 'sold in were more likely to be convinced that they lacked the almost every chemist's and stationer's shop.'21 Popu- necessary time to devote to such efforts. Instead they larity, however, brought its own problems. Such was settled into mere hypothesizing, interminable analy- the demand for busts that the market place was soon sis of existing organs and prolonged arguments over littered with pirated and grossly inaccurate copies definition. and versions. 'Any person can manufacture a bust From those ideas which reached the pages of the constructed as his fancy or pecuniary interest may Phrenological Journal it is apparent that most phre- dictate; and there is every probability, whilst the nologists were happy simply to submit their views for present taste of the public lasts, that they will be consideration, and seldom pronounced them as 22 purchased with avidity', observed Hytch. Such established facts. This was no doubt partly because 'pretended busts' were no doubt eagerly purchased of the belief that each new discovery in phrenology by those 'wealthless phrenologists' who could not had to be confirmed and corroborated by a large body afford the IOJ 6d. charged by DeVille for his of evidence. But it was also because they assumed 23 version. that in submitting their own researches to the editors 146 M. H. KAUFMAN AND N. BASDEN of the Phrenological Journal, these researches would on similarly sanctioned busts, although no reason for be collated with other phrenologists' observations in this is apparent. The unascertained organ which order to facilitate advances in the science. In fact this appeared in Spurzheim's early arrangement, and happened only rarely, and the Edinburgh conductors was marked as either '?' or '19a', was variously of the Journal were accused of using it as a vehicle suggested to be the organ of 'Sublimity', 'Love of only for their own views the Past' and 'Watchfulness', and was noticed to be When some of the new proposals were accepted large in one man who delighted in 'what is wild, 28 they still had to be fitted into Spurzheim's unac- solemn, vast, dreary and lonely'. In the end, commodating arrangement. One of the - some would however, along with '3a' and '6a', its function was say ingenious - ways this was done was simply by never considered to be fully established as fact. The Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jhc/article/9/1/139/767414 by guest on 28 September 2021 splitting an existing organ in two Such was the case age of certainty of new discoveries in mainline with Spurzheim's Inhabitiveness which Combe rede- phrenology seems, therefore, to have ended with fined and renamed as Concentrativeness and Dr Spurzheim's initial arrangement. Vimont of Pans eventually split into two separate Although so few of these speculative changes to organs - assigned to both Spurzheim's and Combe's the faculties appeared on actual busts, it by no means definitions Combe's explanation of his changes to discouraged phrenologists from continuing to analyse Spurzheim's definition gives an insight into how and divide. Indeed, as the divisions were multiplied it phrenological 'discovery' took place. Writing on is not surprising to find that another solution was Spurzheim's original work, Combe notes that: needed to accommodate them in the rigid framework of the organs on the bust. To several phrenologists a The first step in the discovery of [the] organ was the observation that certain individuals are naturally prone to solution indeed seemed to present itself: compound sedentary habits and find it painful to stir abroad without a organs. Thus Sir George Mackenzie, for instance, special motive, and this too, of considerable urgency.26 was quite confident that 'Melody' was more correctly composed of 'Perception of Different Sounds', Then later: 'Perception of Melody', 'Perception of Harmony' Now very numerous observations seem to us to lead to the and 'Ability to Memorize Tunes'. conclusion that the function of this organ is more extensive, and we have therefore ventured to give it the name 'Concentrativeness' We think its original function is to The rejection of Spurzheim's alterations produce a concentration of the different faculties towards one object, and to enable the individual in whom it is The wealth of different opinions emanating from the strongly developed to maintain various powers in simulta- lower ranks of phrenologists was welcomed by neous action As regards to the tendency to 'Inhabitiveness' Combe as evidence of a genuine desire for truth In we conceive that concentrativeness of mind is favourable to 1824, at the same time as he was challenging this tendency, and that men and animals, whose faculties Spurzheim on his definition of Inhabitiveness, are most concentrated, have the greatest inclination to Combe informed his one-time teacher that he was remain in one place; besides, animals which browse on merely doing to him what Spurzheim had done to rocks, and birds which place their nests in high and Gall. In the liberal ethos of phrenology, said Combe, difficult situations, or by the banks of rapid rivers, would this was surely acceptable. It soon became clear, require for their well being and comfort just such a faculty however, that the grace Combe expected from as this . " Spurzheim was not always forthcoming in a recipro- The division of this organ - Spurzheim's Inhabi- cal fashion. tiveness - appears on busts as number '3' and The problem seems to have been that what number '3a' The only additional organ - not a appeared as truth to Spurzheim changed rapidly division - which appeared on 'recognized' busts and frequently - more so than Combe could com- was that numbered 6a and was termed 'Alimentive- prehend. As early as 1825 the Edinburgh phrenolo- ness' or 'Organ of the Appetite for Food'. Dr gists were complaining publicly that Spurzheim Caldwell, an American phrenologist, considered 'thinks it best to adopt every improvement as it 29 that a passion for strong drink arose from excitement suggests itself. In fact they were reacting to of this organ. Both of these changes were introduced changes made by Spurzheim in 1820, which he to busts from about 1824 and afterwards. Interest- presented in his Essate Phtlosophtque sur la Nature Morale et Intellectuelle de I'Homme and which he ingly, yet another organ - 'Love of Life' (which 30 Spurzheim named 'Vitativeness') - never appeared described as his 'most perfect arrangement'. THE EVOLUTION OF MARKED PHRENOLOGICAL HEADS 147 These modifications were quite different from those Examiner' of the New York Whig, reprinted in the in his 'English Work' published in 181531 and those Phrenological Journal in 1839, the author states: in Edinburgh were quite adamant that it was unwise . . we have arrived at the strong conviction, that the bust to follow Spurzheim's lead They gave their reasons: formerly marked by Spurzheim, and the one now used by We conceive, that though the alterations he has since made Combe, are correct. This view is strongly corroborated by may be improvements, they are not so strikingly or the fact that the plates of Vimont, of Pans, which were decidedly so as to overbalance the evils of a change. The drawn from an entirely new series of observations, agree science has been taught to many here according to the first with these almost precisely. arrangement . and without some great advantage, Such being our belief, we think that the last bust authorised by Spurzheim, and published by Marsh,

something like an improvement which promises to be Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jhc/article/9/1/139/767414 by guest on 28 September 2021 permanent, and to remove the necessity of any further Capen, and Lyon, of Boston, should from this time be change, we are greatly unwilling to depart from our laid aside, as not conforming with nature, and, conse- accustomed order. Such advantages we do not at present quently, as being not merely useless, but mischievous.35 clearly see in the new order proposed by Dr Spurzheim. We think it not improbable, that, in the course of future Finally and in the same volume of the Phrenological investigations, some further alterations and modifications Journal as above, the then editor, H. C. Watson, may become necessary [but] we are unwilling to make a effectively elevated the Edinburgh bust above any of single step which we might afterwards have occasion to its rivals by saying: alter or retract, and in the meantime, waiting for further light, we are disposed to remain where we are3Z The Edinburgh bust appears to have been the only one (Gall's excepted) on which the divisions of the organs were The point here is that Combe's and the Edinburgh drawn from nature, that is, from the casts of real heads phrenologists' resistance to change effectively Spurzheim drew his bust from some notions (in this brought an end to the evolution of the phrenological instance probably fanciful) about the anatomical relations bust in the British Isles, for despite the existence of of the phrenological organs; and Mr DeVille, whose marked bust is sold in London, seems to be able to give other phrenologists the stature of Combe and his no reasons for the lines of division laid down on his own, continuing authority through his written works except in accordance with one of those issued by Spurz- remained. heim. Under these circumstances we think that phrenolo- In 1825, in the preface to the third edition of his gists should all follow the Edinburgh bust, until they can Elements of Phrenology,33 Combe wrote: show substantial reasons for each proposed alteration or departure from it36 Dr Spurzheim proposed some modifications of the lines delineating the organs on the bust; but as I have not yet had And in the true spirit of phrenology, Watson felt time sufficient to compare the proposed alterations with quite free to criticize where he felt certain of his own nature, I retain the old markings till further consideration. opinion: Even what restraint was evident here was, however, At the same time, let it be added, that in our estimation, the soon abandoned after Spurzheim's death in 1832; by form of the head is not a good average. The bust rather the time Combe came to write his preface to the represents a superior female head, than an average for 34 fourth edition of his System of Phrenology in 1836 he either sex.37 had this to say Dr Spurzheim, in the American Edition of his 'Phrenol- ogy', published at Boston in 1832, adopted a new arrange- Latter days ment of the organs, different from any which he had previously followed It will be impossible, however, to By the 1850s the bid to have phrenology accepted as a arrive at a perfect classification and numeration of the true science and a serious route to reform had lost organs until the whole of them shall have been discovered, much of its impetus. The internal schisms, disagree- and the primitive or elementary faculties shall have been ments and individualisms had weakened its voice, ascertained Any order, therefore, adopted in the mean- and many individuals either drifted away or con- time, must be to some extent arbitrary Dr Spurzheim has fessed to finding faults and inconsistences which shown this to be the case by the frequent alterations he has weakened their own belief. Further, as the leading made in the numeration of the organs, without having phrenologists either died or seceded to other spheres added any corresponding discoveries to the science. of interest (especially mesmerism) there was no one By 1839 it was not only Combe's voice that was left to issue guidance or to watch over the purity of raised in dissension. In an article in the 'Medical what was being presented Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jhc/article/9/1/139/767414 by guest on 28 September 2021 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jhc/article/9/1/139/767414 by guest on 28 September 2021 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jhc/article/9/1/139/767414 by guest on 28 September 2021 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jhc/article/9/1/139/767414 by guest on 28 September 2021 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jhc/article/9/1/139/767414 by guest on 28 September 2021 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jhc/article/9/1/139/767414 by guest on 28 September 2021 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jhc/article/9/1/139/767414 by guest on 28 September 2021 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jhc/article/9/1/139/767414 by guest on 28 September 2021 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jhc/article/9/1/139/767414 by guest on 28 September 2021 THE EVOLUTION OF MARKED PHRENOLOGICAL HEADS the base, however, informs us that this was Published known that the Society's collection originally con- as the Act Directs . . . 1866 By A. L. VAGO' who tained marked casts of the brain. Unfortunately, no worked in premises in Gray's Inn Road, London.54 examples of these casts are still available in the While the specimens illustrated here represent collection only a proportion of those originally displayed in It is hoped that the information provided here will the museum of the Edinburgh Phrenological Society, give an insight into the history of phrenologically they provide sufficient examples of the various types marked crania, casts of crania and heads held in other of early marked crania, casts of skulls and heads to collections, and will enable a reasonably accurate date allow a chronological series to be produced It is also to be ascribed to individual items. Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jhc/article/9/1/139/767414 by guest on 28 September 2021

APPENDIX

GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS

Coronal plane' a vertical plane passing through the between the frontal and nasal bones (at the 'bridge' of skull/body parallel with the coronal suture the nose) Coronal suture: the site of union (or suture) of the Post-auricular region: the region of the skull just frontal bone with the two parietal bones - its position behind the ear on the skull defines the coronal plane Pretnaxtllary region the frontal (anterior) part of the Fronto-nasal region: the anterior region of the skull maxillary bone - the part of the skull from which the which includes the frontal and nasal bones upper incisor teeth emerge Glabella: the smooth area on the lower part of the Ptenon. a point on the side of the skull just behind frontal bone between the two superciliary (or the orbit at the junction of the frontal, parietal, supraorbital) arches (or ridges) - a standard defined temporal and greater wing of the sphenoid bones Sagittal suture: the midline suture which runs along craniometric point used in determining the dimen- the top (or vertex) of the skull where the two parietal sions of the skull bones meet Imon: the external occipital protuberance Supraorbital ridge: the bony ridge above the orbit Mastoid process the blunt projection at the base of the where the eyebrows are located (also termed super- mastoid part of the temporal bone ciliary ridge or arch) Naswn: the mid-point of the site of union (suture) Vertex: the top or 'crown' of the skull

Acknowledgementi collection of the Castle Museum, Norwich. Additional photo- graphs were prepared by Mr R McDougall. We wish to thank Mr Jack Cable for photographing the items in the Henderson Trust Collection, and Mr John Hopwood, for photographing the marked cranium in the Medical Address for correspondence Museum of St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College. Grateful thanks are also due to Dr Andrew Norton, Curator, Professor M. H Kaufman, Department of Anatomy, Uni- for permission to photograph and publish the latter item. versity Medical School, Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG Thanks are also due to Mr Adrian Zealand, Assistant Keeper, McManus Callenes, Dundee, for his invaluable assistance and for kindly supplying photographs and informa- Notes and references tion on the marked heads in his collection, Professor 1 F. J. Gall, The Functions of the Brain and of Each of its M Schultz, for supplying photographs of the marked crania Parts • with Observations on the Possibility of Determining the in the Anatomy Department, Georg-August University of Instincts, Propensities, and Talents, or the Moral and Gottingen, Mr Tim Boon, Curator, Wellcome Trust Collec- Intellectual Dispositions of Men and Animals, By the Con- tion, Science Museum, London, for supplying photographs figuration of the Brain and Head, m, (Boston, 1835), and information on marked crania, and Mr W. Milligan, pp 129-30 Curator, for information on the marked cranium in the 2 L. Chevalier, Labouring Classes and Dangerous Classes in M. H. KAUFMAN AND N. BASDEN Pans during the First Half of the Nineteenth Century, trans de l'homme moral et intellectual, fondee sur les fonctions F Jellinek (London, 1973) du systeme nerveux Par G. Spurzheim, M.D. Paris, 1818 3 See entry for 'mask' in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd Essaie philosophique sur la nature morale et intellectuelle edn (Oxford, 1989) de Phomme, Paris, 1820 par G. Spurzheim, M.D.' 4 See Gall, op cit (note 1) p 130 This passage also appears [Review] Phrenological Journal 2 (1825), p 191. in the earlier edition of this work, Sur Us Foncttons du 28 Anon., 'Facts in contradiction to Mr. Hytch's views on the Cerveau . . . (Paris, 1825), pp. 207-8. function of the organ marked "?"', Phrenological Journal 5 'Lettre de Charles Villers a Georges Cuvier sur une 11 (1838), p. 413 nouvelle theorie du cerveau par le Docteur Gall (Metz, 29 Anon., 'Phrenology or the Doctrine of the Mind, and of 1802)', Phrenological Journal 2 (1825), pp 98-104. the relations between its manifestations and the body,' by 6 J Gordon, 'The doctrines of Gall and Spurzheim', J Spurzheim, M D., pp. 303 with a frontispiece and 14 Edinburgh Review 25 (1815), pp 227-68

engravings, 3rd edn , greatly improved, 165 (London, and Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jhc/article/9/1/139/767414 by guest on 28 September 2021 7 G Combe, 'Preliminary dissertation on the progress and Edinburgh), [Review] Phrenological Journal 2 (1825), 1 application of phrenology , Transactions of the Edinburgh p 622 Phrenological Society (1824), p 26 30 See Anon , op cit (note 27), p 191 8 Also cited in O'Neil's Phrenology Catalogue of 1823 31. Spurzheim published two works in 1815 The Physiogno- 9 G Combe, 'Remarks on Mr E J Hytch's communication mical System ofDrs Gall and Spurzheim and Outlines of the on the improvement of phrenological busts', Phrenological Physiognomical System. This reference almost certainly Journal and Magazine of Moral Science 11 (1838), p m refers to the former 10 See Combe, op cit (note 9), p 108. 32 See Anon , op cit (note 25), p 194 11 J DeVille, Outlines of Phrenology, as an Accompaniment to 33 G Combe, Elements of Phrenology, 3rd edn (Edinburgh the Phrenological Bust (London, 1824) and London, 1825) 12 H C Watson, Statistics of Phrenology being a sketch of the 34 G Combe, A System of Phrenology, 4th edn. (Edinburgh, progress and present state of that science in the British Islands, 1836) (London, 1836), p 83 35 Anon , 'On variations in the extent and position of organs 13 See De Ville, op cit (note 11), p 160 delineated on the marked busts' (from the 'Medical 14 Anon , Outlines of Phrenology (London, printed for J De Examiner' of the New York Whig), Phrenological Journal Ville, 367 Strand, 1824), pp 123, [Review] Phrenological 12 (1839), p 366. (The date of publication of this 'last Journal 1 (1824), pp 625-9 post' is unknown, but it should be noted that Spurzheim 15 See Anon , op cit (note 14), p 626 died in Boston in November 1832 when undertaking an 16 See Anon , op cit (note 14), p 628. extensive tour of the United States.) 17 E J Hytch, 'On the improvement of the phrenological busts', Phrenological Journal 11 (1838), p. 40. 36 Anon , 'Comments on the comparison of Combe's and Spurzheim's busts in the New York Weekly Whig,' 18 See Hytch, op cit (note 17), p 41 19 See Combe, op cit (note 9), p 107 Phrenological Journal 12 (1839), p 362 (H C Watson 20 Craig was advertising his bust in New Moral World and was editor at this time ) Star m the East in 1836 and Akin was publishing A 37 See Anon., op. cit (note 36), p 362 Phrenological Bijou, or vade-mecum of mental science, 38 0 S Fowler, Fowler's Practical Phrenology 35th edn being a brief illustration of the organs, as arranged on Mr revised and improved (New York, 1846). Aktn's palladian bust, and likewise his set of phrenological 39 N Morgan, Phrenology, and how to use it in analyzing models, with concise remarks on cerebral development and the character (London, 1871), p 140 combination of faculties (Bath, printed for the author, 40 F J Gall, Craniologte, ou decouvertes nouvelles du Docteur published by C Duffield) in 1830 [As noted in R F J. Gall, concernant le cerveau, le crane, et les organes. Cooter, Phrenology m the British Isles, an annotated, Ouvrage traduit de I'Allemand (Paris, 1807) historical biobtbhography and index (Metuchen, NJ, and 41 F J Gall and G Spurzheim, Anatomic et physiologic du London, 1989)] One of Francisco Mitchelelle's busts is in systeme nerveux en general, et du cerveau en particulier, avec the collection of the National Museums of Scotland, des observations sur la possibility de reconnoitre plusieurs Edinburgh dispositions mtellectuelles et morales de l'homme et des 21 C. Gibbon, The Life of George Combe, author of 'The ammaux, par la configuration de leurs tetes Atlas (Paris, Constitution of Man', 2 vols (London, 1878), vol. II, p 5. 1810) 22 See Hytch, op cit (note 17), p 40 42. G Combe, A System of Phrenology, 4th edn (Edinburgh, 23 Most of the phrenological busts from this period and 1836), pp 839-41. earlier which exist today appear to have been published by 43 N Morgan, The Skull and Brain. Their indications of competent phrenologists The main reason for this is that character and anatomical relations (London, 1875), p. 47 they have survived only as part of larger collections 44 J. A Epstein and B S. Epstein, 'Deformities of the skull formed by phrenological societies and more discerning surfaces in infancy and childhood,' Journal of Pediatrics 70 followers of the science. (1967), pp. 636-47. 24 See Combe, op cit (note 9), p 112 [Editor's note]. 45 J G. Spurzheim, Outlines of the Physiognomical System of 25 G Combe, A System of Phrenology, 5th edn , 2 vols Drs Gall and Spurzheim. Indicating the dispositions and (Edinburgh, 1843) manifestations of the mind (London, 1815). 26 G Combe, Elements of Phrenology (Edinburgh, 1824), 46 J. Spurzheim, Phrenology, or. The Doctrine of the Mind, P 29 and of the relations betweeen its manifestations and the body, 27 Anon , 'Observation sur la phrenologie, ou la connaissance 3rd edn (London, 1825). THE EVOLUTION OF MARKED PHRENOLOGICAL HEADS I59 47 Anon , 'New phrenological bust,' Phrmologrcal3ournal6 mscriptlon. The organs are dellneated on either the left or (1830)~pp 178-82. right s~deonly. Some are part coloured, while others have 48 G Combe, Essays on Phrenology, or an mqurry rnto the been left uncoloured. All are inscribed with an 'M' to pnncrples and ualrry of the systrm of Dn Gall and Spurzhcrm, designate the location of the mastoid region, and an 'S' to and Into the objectrom ma& agarnst rt (Edinburgh, 1819) designate the location of the inion. 49 See Anon., op cit (note 47), p 179 52 See Anon., op cit (note 47). 50 Personal communication, MI W Milligan, Curator. Stark, 53 G Combe, Ehents ofPhrmology, 7th edn. (Edinburgh, a native of Norwich, 1s known to have lectured on 1850). phrenology in that city 54 The 'Act' referred to here is the Garrad Act of 1798 Each 51 A group of four marked and glazed heads m the Item thus covered bore the legend 'Published as the Act McManus Galleries, Dundee, and formerly m the collec- Directs [month/day/year] by copyright holder'

tion of the Dundee Phrenologd Society, were published followed by the address The Act was passed in order to Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jhc/article/9/1/139/767414 by guest on 28 September 2021 by O'Neil & Son, and dated I October 1824 These have give some protection of copyright to workers in plaster identical markings to those displayed on the head illus- See T Clifford, 'The plaster shops of the Rococo and neo- trated in Fig 14 Three of these are inscribed 'Gentle- classical era in Britain', 3oumal of the Hutory of Colkcnm man', 'Lady' and 'Girl', while the fourth bears no similar 4 "0 1 (19921, PP 39-65