ANTIQUE PHRENOLOGY BUSTS
Alex Peck Medical Antiques
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Phrenology was the study of the shape and features of a person's head to allegedly determine attributes such as character, intelligence, diligence, etc. While the practice has lost its legitimacy, it did mark the beginning of the inquiry into what part of the brain controls what and of the field of neurology.
To help with the reading of a subject's head, busts of the ideal head, such as the examples shown here, were made to serve as reference points. The cranium was divided into various regions of sentiments, and these were labeled. The best known of these busts is that to the left which was designed by Lorenzo N. Fowler, a prominent practitioner of phrenology in the nineteenth century. (Similar models were produced for many years and are widely reproduced today.) The center phrenology head is from Seville, Spain, and the sentiments are in Spanish. The bust is about life-size and dates to c. 1850. To the right is an R. Wells 1870s plaster bust from New York. Note that the sentiments are marked with printed labels that were attached to the head.
A c. 1860 carte-de-visite thought to be of Lorenzo Niles Fowler (1811-1896), the well-known 19th century phrenologist. Based initially in New York City, then in London, Fowler read the heads on many of the era's most famous personages, including Walt Whitman, Mark Twain, and Clara Barton. Note the phrenology head on the table.
A c. 1850 antique phrenology bust inkwell embossed along the front: By F. Bridges / Phrenologist. 14cm tall.
Other phrenological antiques include books, calipers, charts, snuff boxes decorated with crania, and phrenology head cane handles.
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