Freaks, Murders, Idiots and other Phrenological miscellany.

The first proper freelance commission I accepted was working at the Anatomy Department of Edinburgh University documenting some of the collections held in the Museum there. As part of my Adip course at Stevenson College I was lucky enough to gain access to the Anatomy department to photograph the entrance hall, lecture theatres and the museum as part of the architecture module. These print are now lodged in the RCAHMS - Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, archive. I was fortunate enough to be invited back to photograph two of the collections housed there. The first being the remaining collection of the Edinburgh Phrenological Society was founded in 1820. Phrenology; The scientific study of the shape of the head to determine psychological characteristics of the individual, Such as Artists, criminals, idiots and intellectuals etc. Unfortunately when I did this collection it was in the very early days of digital photography. I wanted to use film but it was insisted I use a very early digital camera (this was 15 years ago!) that wasn’t really up to the job as you can see by the pictures.

Anyway an absolutely fascinating collection of death masks to show the different types including such luminaries as Shakespeare, Voltaire and Burke and Hare (see illustrations)

The collection is now housed in the national portrait gallery and I would urge you to seek out Joanna Kanes amazing book The Somnambulists.

#Phernologicalsociety #JoannaKanes #RCHAMS