Alphonse Bertillon: self-portrait for the Bertillon photo-card identity system 1883

Alphonse Bertillon: self-portrait  for the Bertillon photo-card identity system 1883

By the 1880s, at last the 19th century fascination with phrenology, physiognomies and typologies of the human face found a outlet. In this system, dubbed Bertillonage after its inventor, we have a true anthropometrical approach, with the frontal and profile portraits (later called ‘mug shots’), being just one part of a complete system of photo-identity.

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