Pirates and phrenology? Yes. That’s right. In 1827 John Myers, who was Inspector of Customs for Norfolk at the time, received an odd question about the skull of a pirate from his friend Joshua Cohen. Apparently there was a desire for the skull for “phrenological appreciation at Baltimore” by a Dr. Archer. Did Dr. Archer wish to derive meaning from bumps on the bones of the Pirate Tardy? Popular science at the time postulated a relationship between a person’s character and the morphology or shape of the human skull. This study became all the rage, and was used in society at the time to explain misfortunes, predict the future, diagnose maladies, etc. Dr. Archer probably would have wanted to inspect the skull of a pirate in order to determine the malformation that sparked his life of crime.
It was the job of John Myers to say whether or not it was in his jurisdiction to allow this piece of a pirate, buried in the sand at Old Point, to leave the state of Virginia. We’ve had some challenging research questions here at the Jean Outland Chrysler library, but we’re willing to bet that this one had John scratching his own noggin. Interest in the human head has waned little in the last almost two centuries. The use of the skull in art has sky rocketed in the last few years – think of Damien Hirst’s diamond encrusted skull. Do you have a mind for some phrenological explorations of your own? Stop by the JOCL this Fall and glance through such popular titles as Wonder and Horror of the Human Head and Ghost in the Shell. We also have a copy of George Combe’s The Constitution of a Man - one of the most popular works on phrenology.
Just thought we’d give you a heads up.
- SCM
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| Here's the original 1827 letter from the Myers Collection. Click on the Image for a better view! |
