Phrenology

George Burgess, my great-great-grandfather, practiced Phrenology in the Arcades, Bristol for 40 years from 1861 until his retirement in 1901. He took Phrenology one stage further. In his view (quoting from one of his books on Phrenology):-

'The external is developed by the internal; and the outer form is the true expression of the inner spirit; hence all beings carry their characters with them, written outwardly on every feature of their complete organization'.

Therefore, although he believed the HEAD was (quoting from his book) 'the crowning portion of the human organization', 'the complete character of the person cannot be perfectly read from the body, or face, or head, singly. To discover the whole character the individual must be considered as a whole'.

So as well as practicing Phrenology he also looked at his client's feet, hands, neck, ears, jaws, chin, mouth, lips, nose, eyes, face and hair etc., and took into account their general health, voice, expression and complexion. From these readings he would give his clients guidance for happiness in marriage, a guide to good health and advice on the most suitable occupations.

As an example, part of what he wrote about 'hands' in his Phrenology book included:-

Long - A long thin hand indicates subordinate animal power, and little physical strength.
Short - A short, thick hand is a sign of physical compactness and firmness.
Square - Square tipped fingers, of uniform size from hand to tips, are a sign of uniform, plain, matter-of-fact nature.
Smooth - A smooth, soft hand, with rounded fingers shows an even, easy, and loving nature.

The characters of the head mapped out, were the most important tool of the trade. As well two books by George Burgess I also inherited three of his heads, two carved out of wood and one in brass on wood, as pictured here.

George Burgess retired in 1901, Professor G Rudd gave a Phrenology reading to my great-grand father (William Edward Baglin 1839-1908) before his marriage to Gertrude Rosa Burgess (one of the daughters of George Burgess) in 1905.

To my knowledge little is known about Professor G Rudd but he obviously knew George Burgess and by 1928 when he did a Phrenology reading for my grandfather (Edward William Burgess Baglin 1906-1969) he was practicing Phrenology in the Arcades, Bristol; so maybe when George Burgess retired he sold his business to Professor G Rudd!

For further reading on this subject, and to learn more about George Burgess follow the Squidoo links below and the link to the main website where the two Phrenology books by George Burgess, and the Phrenology book by Professor G Rudd are published in full.