L. N. Fowler Phrenology Head (replica)

Porcelain

Artifact Collection, Medical Heritage Center

Phrenology studies the structure of the skull to determine a person’s character. Phrenology’s first heyday was in the 1820s – 1840s. Visiting a phrenologist at that time is akin to seeking the advice of a psychic, clairvoyant or astrologer today as a phrenologist was someone who claimed to have access to special knowledge about people.

A new movement was re-introduced to Britain in the 1860s and 1870s by the American brothers Lorenzo Niles Fowler (1811-1896) and Orson Squire Fowler (1809-1887) who were leading phrenologists of their time. Orson, together with associates Samuel Wells and Nelson Sizer, ran the phrenological business and publishing house Fowlers & Wells in New York City. Meanwhile, Lorenzo spent much of his life in England where he initiated the famous phrenological publishing house, L.N. Fowler & Co., and gained considerable fame with his phrenology head, which is now considered the most famous type of phrenology head.

Although phrenology has been discredited, it did advance the correct notion that different parts of the brain are responsible for different mental functions.