(ART.) Manuscript report on "Phrenological Character of Mr. Thomas Nast." Partly printed cover sheet and [15] manuscript pages, 9¾ x 7¾ inches, top-bound with 4 rivets; moderate staining and minor wear to cover sheet, folds, otherwise minimal wear to text. New York, 31 January 1860
Phrenology was the popular pseudo-science of determining personality traits from the shape of the skull. Phrenology reports are not scarce on the market, but this one is for young artist Thomas Nast (1840-1902), whose first Harper's Weekly illustration had been published within the past year. He soon established his reputation as an illustrator in the Civil War and became synonymous with satirical caricature in the following decades.
Offered here is a full phrenological examination of Nast by "Professor of Phrenology" Nelson Sizer at Fowler & Wells' Phrenological Cabinet, as dictated to assistant T.G. Taylor. You can picture these words being uttered by Dr. Sizer as his hands were carefully massaging Nast's skull. Most relevant: "If you were a painter you would be able to paint women and children because you are interested in these subjects. You would be more interested in drawing and sketching some cathedral that was old and venerable than modern temples. . . . If you were cultivated in art you would strike out and make something that had not been made."
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