Accession No

6512

Brief Description

two plaster phrenological heads (busts), by James de Ville, English, 1821, and two phrenological posters or wall charts, advertising R.B.D. Wells and “Professor Pepper”, English

Origin

England; Kent; London

Maker

de Ville, James Wells, R. B. D. Badman, B. S.

Class

biology; physiology; demonstration

Earliest Date

1821

Latest Date

1933

Inscription Date

1821

Material

plaster; paper; wood; metal (steel)

Dimensions

[6512.1 & 6512.2] 140mm wide x 150mm deep x 235mm tall [6512.3, rolled up] 525mm long x 55mm wide x 35mm deep [6512.3, unrolled] 525mm wide x 560mm tall x 35mm deep [6512.4, rolled up] 575mm long x 45mm wide x 30mm deep [6512.4, unrolled] 575mm wide x 900mm tall x 30mm deep

Special Collection

Provenance

Purchased from Christie’s South Kensington, 85 Old Brompton Road, London, SW7 3LD. Lot 74, Travel, Science and Natural History, 06/04/2011.

Inscription

[6512.1 & 6512.2 - front] “PHRENOLOGY”
[6512.1 & 6512.2 - back] “Pubd by J. De Ville 367 Strand London 11 April 1821”
[6512.3] “A new symbolic head and phrenological chart ... by R.B.D. Wells”
[6512.4] “PHRENOLOGICAL CONSULTATIONS Professor Pepper M.B.P.S The Renowned Kent Phrenologist ... “

Description Notes

Two plaster phrenological heads (busts) by James de Ville, English, 1821, and two phrenological posters / wall charts, English, advertising R.B.D. Wells and “Professor Pepper”.

[6512.1] Hollow, plaster-cast phrenological bust, with pale brown varnish. Traditional style phrenological bust showing demarcated areas of the cranium associated with various personality traits and characteristics. Areas are not labelled (or if they were, labelling has worn off). Front of bust’s base is embossed with the word “PHRENOLOGY”. Back of bust’s base is embossed with: “Pubd by J. De Ville 367 Strand London 11 April 18[??]” [year is illegible, due to missing plaster, but may be inferred to read “1821”]

Condition: good/fair, complete. Many scratches and dents.

[6512.2] Hollow, plaster-cast phrenological bust, with dark brown varnish. Traditional style phrenological bust showing demarcated areas of the cranium associated with various personality traits and characteristics. Areas are labelled in manuscript black ink (left side of cranium with words, right side with numbers). Large part of nose of bust is missing. Front of bust’s base is embossed with the word “PHRENOLOGY”. Back of bust’s base is embossed with: “Pubd by J. De Ville 367 Strand London 11 April 1821”.

Condition: fair, complete. Many scratches and dents, plus large section of nose missing.

[6512.3] Roll-up phrenological poster / wall chart, entitled “A new symbolic head and phrenological chart, with the name and definition of each organ, by R. B. D. Wells, phrenologist, West Bank, Scarbro.” Chromolithographed poster backed on canvas, attached top and bottom to wooden mounts. Top mount contains steel rings at each end. Poster shows side view of human head, with small colour illustrations of scenes (people working, hunting, fighting, marrying, etc.) within each section of the divided cranium. Below title is a key with short descriptions of the 42 labelled sections (labelled 1 to 37 and A to E). Probably dates from last quarter of 19th century, based on when Wells appears to have been active in Scarborough (see website printout in OHF).

Condition: poor, complete. Poster is very worn and cracked, with numerous creases. Bottom left portion of poster has broken away from wooden mount.

[6512.4] Roll-up phrenological poster / wall chart, entitled “PHRENOLOGICAL CONSULTATIONS Professor Pepper M.B.P.S The Renowned Kent Phrenologist.“ Inscribed with date 14/08/33 [1933] and name of artist, “B. S. Badman [?]”. Manuscript poster on canvas, attached top and bottom to wooden mounts. Top mount has string tied to it. Poster shows side view of “Model Head.”, with typical demarcated areas of the cranium, each labelled with corresponding personality attribute. Beside head is a list of the 7 types, with corresponding numbers labelled in red on cranium.

Condition: fair, complete. Poster is lightly worn and creased. Bottom right portion of poster has broken away from wooden mount.

References

Events