November 14, 2006

• Whoah this would look really cool as a photo series. Any baldies/willing-to-shave-head types wanna be drawn over with markers and photographed?
• Those are awesome. Same era as phrenology?
• A little after phrenology, clearly influenced by it, though. This is from late 19th Century, early 20th. It's also influenced by Theosophical (religious philosophy) which was big at the time. Blavatsky & all that.
• Speak of the devil... looks to be pretty contemporaneous with phrenology.
• Yeah, I don't know what to believe about the origins of any of it. That site with all the photocopy images of heads is run by an exmeth-addict relative of the fabled Sivartha and he is kind of gushy. There are some other vaguely related sites linked from there that are reckoned to add to the story/bullshit/legend or whatever. But I kind of gave up trying to 'place' this stuff. Dude began his writings/drawings in 1859 by the by (you can see that as a date on one of the heads). I just see it as, you know, weirdly goodness from one oddball, whether or not it has any relationship to to phrenology. A recent edition of the book is on amazon too.

• "From 1859 onwards he began writing down his thoughts and drawings which were to be incorporated into three books published around the turn of the century."

  Or what Chyren. Phrenology was a dead science in the mid 19th C. and sporadically enthused for the rest of that millenium acc. to the britishlibrary.net. They also mention that "the British Phrenological Society (founded by Lorenzo Niles Fowler in 1887) was only disbanded in 1967." Amazing, like so much chiropracty!
• I just see it as, you know, weirdly goodness from one oddball, whether or not it has any relationship to to phrenology. Why would the relationship matter one way or the other? (and to clarify the above... Or what Chyren said.)
• Oh nevamind. You ass.
• Me that is.
• Why would the relationship matter one way or the other? Umm...context perhaps. I only mentioned it both because it was while searching on phrenology that I actually found the book; and because it was mentioned in this here thread. That's why.
• ...it was while searching on phrenology that I actually found the book... A ha! So there is a relationship... From what I just read about phrenology (as a now unreproachable expert in the field), at the time Sivartha was doing his schtick phrenology had resurfaced as a new-age wank-fest, so I wouldn't be surprised about any connection. (Not to say it isn't a crock to begin with.) The only reason I asked was because it seemed you were trying to distance phrenology from new-age to... idunno, protect it's "reputation?" And I was all, "huh? Noooo... Yes?" So I asked. This is why I was being an ass. By the by, here's an interesting Arthur Merton in India via Clark Ashton Smith. Published in 1911... was Smith influenced?!
• sorry Interesting link, Argh!