This 1856 photograph is one of the earliest to depict a phrenologist at work. What’s phrenology? It’s the foundation for many of the principles that are seen in modern psychiatry and neurology today. Phrenologists believed the shape of the brain was an indicator of mental capacity, and that different portions of the brain controlled different parts of the body. Simply by feeling bumps on the skull, a phrenologist would conclude information about a person’s character, intelligence, and whether or not they lacked a certain personality trait.
Poe took quite an interest in this science (maybe because of his characteristically large cranium?) Will his belief in brain bumps lead him into trouble? Come see this October in…
The Completely Fictional—Utterly True—Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allan Poe
(via dietpepsicoffeelife)
