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Little practiced today, Phrenology had a profound impact on American culture and poetry, as well as University founder Woodbridge N. Ferris
When I was a senior in high school, I took a Social Studies
course that covered trends of scientific belief that affected culture. While
exploring the legacy of Social Darwinism, the teacher brought in a book
on Phrenology - an area of study that suggested the shape of the head revealed
a person's true nature.
The teacher, Mr. Felkey, displayed one of the Phrenological charts in the book and described the general shape of a head thought to belong to a criminal personality. "And the person in the class who most fits this description," said Mr. Felkey, pausing dramatically before turning suddenly and pointing to where I sat, "is Sheehan!" I tried to slump down in my chair.
So when I happened to see an ad for Phrenology readings
advertised in the back of On The Town, an arts and entertainment newspaper
in Grand Rapids, my interest was piqued. In part because of the possibility
of my latent criminal nature, and also because University founder Woodbridge
Ferris practiced Phrenology - going so far as to give personality evaluations
to prospective students.
I called the number in the ad and made an appointment to have my head examined - literally.
As Different As Snowflakes
"People always ask if they have a good head or a bad head, but there's no such thing. It all depends on the circumstances of the occupation, of the person," explains Phrenologist Dan Drenth. "Everybody's head is different; it's sort of like snowflakes. Phrenologists don't judge people. It's a matter of someone applying the faculties that they've got."
Drenth is carefully feeling the lumps, bumps and irregularities of my skull as he explains some of the basics and history of Phrenology.
Phrenologist Dan Drenth practices the craft that fascinated Woodbridge Ferris and thousands of others in its heyday.
"They were sort of mad scientists back then," Drenth says in describing the founders of Phrenology. "Many of them were unhealthy themselves because they devoted so much of their time to this. It was Dr. Spurzheim and others who discovered where the different properties were located."
The "Dr. Spurzheim" Drenth refers to is Johann Kasper Spurzheim, who popularized Phrenology in the 1830s. He was a disciple of Franz Joseph Gall, who first developed the theory that personality traits could be inferred from the shape of a person's head. When Gall was forced to leave his native Austria early in the 19th century, Spurzheim went with him.
And Drenth isn't exaggerating. In 1832 Spurzheim embarked upon an American lecture tour so arduous he died six months into it. Spurzheim was followed by brothers Orson and Lorezno Fowler, who continued to spread the word about Phrenology. (In his Autobiography, Ferris mentions receiving a reading from "Professor O.S. Fowler" in Chicago's Palmer House after attending one of his lectures.)
The Fowlers left at least two lasting legacies. Their influential publishing company, Fowler and Wells, had the distinction of publishing the first edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass -arguably the most important single collection of poetry ever published in the United States. And then there are the heads.
Probably the best-known Phrenological item is the porcelain head that charts the various areas thought to correspond to character traits: everything from Moral and Religious Sentiments to Selfish Propensities. L.N. Fowler produced and sold the original and most famous of these. Woodbridge Ferris owned one.
Passing the Hat
It was with his Fowler head and various Fowler and Wells publications, among other materials, that Ferris not only delved into Phrenological ideas, but actually gave readings.
In 1872 when he was just 19 years old, Ferris gave a Phrenology lecture at the public school in Oxford, Mich.. "On the evening advertised a sympathetic audience assembled and when the hat was passed, contributed seven or eight dollars," Ferris writes. He also notes that he gave "oral delineations of character" (as opposed to a full written report of character) for 25 cents a head.
Phrenology was not a passing fad for Ferris. Even after founding his school in Big Rapids, Ferris sometimes used Phrenological readings to ascertain a student's strengths and weaknesses. At least as late as 1920, after serving two terms as Michigan's governor and just two years before being elected to the U.S. Senate, Ferris was still using Phrenology to help guide his students.
In discussing the traits of one Reine Trippensee, Ferris first notes that, "It is too bad that she has not a chance in earlier life.to realize her dreams before this. But I believe in making dreams come true and it is not too late yet." He also sees in Trippennsee, "an extraordinary approbativeness which manifests itself in appreciation of her worth, of true womanhood." Ferris suggests that she indeed follow her dream of being a librarian, perhaps working toward that goal through developing her skills as a stenographer.
A Bounty on My Head?
According to Drenth, my head is on the small size, which is one of the reasons I shouldn't go into big business or activities involving mass production.
Furthermore, I am stubborn, but willing to listen to opposing viewpoints. I enjoy travel, but largely so I can look forward to returning home. My relationship to the spiritual takes place more in a personal one-on-one experience than with a crowd of people.
Overall, having examined my head's unique topography,
Drenth says that of the three basic character types - intellectual, spiritual
or emotional - I am an intellectual.
"You have a certain amount of benevolence up here, too," he tells me. "With High Benevolence, you're not just going to view college as a business; you'll be more concerned with the health of the students and the people you're working with." That's certainly a characteristic I think Woodbridge Ferris would approve one of his employees having.
Most importantly, perhaps, there doesn't seem to be any overt sign of predilection toward criminal behavior. That's good not only for my peace of mind after all these years, but because Drenth, when he's not moonlighting as a Phrenologist, is a veteran corrections officer at Ionia Prison.
Contact Information for Dan Drenth is available by
typing his name and home city of Grand Rapids, Mich., into the People Search/White
Pages option of Yahoo, Excite, or other search engines.