Phrenology Booklet

(nee. St. George) - 1900
Undeciphered words, marked by a [?] | Transcribed by Madelaine MacDonald
All photos and research completed with documents from The Harry van Oudenaren Collection, file 26 discovered by Paige Smith

Background Information:

Phrenology was the pseudoscientific belief that measuring specific locations on someone’s skull could predict personality traits and general aptitudes. It was a precursor to the scientific understanding of the brain as an organ with specific hemispheres and zones, however, there is absolutely no empirical value to phrenography and measuring the topography of the skull.  It  was often used as a justification for beliefs of biological inferiority, along the lines of gender and race, situating the European man's skull as the ‘ideal.’

Georgie (Georgina Amelia) St. George was born in 1870 in Ireland, and would have been 30 at the time of this analysis. She emigrated with her mother to Canada when she was 7, making several trips back to Ireland. She married Walter T. Comber of Bobcaygeon (who was 4 years her junior and brought over from England to tutor for the Boyd family children) during the same year of this phrenogram. 

Despite the phrenographer’s prediction that Georgie St. George would be best suited as a housewife or copyist at an office, she became a founder and head mistress of a private preparatory school for boys aged 8-15 in Bobcaygeon with her husband. Hill Croft school would later become a Hillcroft Hospital, a nursing home, and is now a medical building.

Front Cover

Miss G. St. George

Inner Cover

Blank

Front Pamphlet

Phrenograph Of Miss Georgie St. George

Bobcaygeon, June 12th 1900

By MARK MENDELSON

Index to the Written Figures, They Mark the Development of each Organ, to Wit:

7-Very Large. 6-Large. 5-Full. 4-Average. 3-Moderate. 2-Small. The mark X denotes the present activity, the mark - the inactivity of any organ.

Second Page of front Pamphlet

THE TEMPERAMENTS.

4 MOTIVE - made up of the bones and muscles produces robust vigor and power of endurance.
6 SANGUINE- made up of the heart, blood and lungs, produces superior vital energy and bodily activity.
3 ½ LYMPHATIC- made up of the digestive apparatus, has a relaxing effect on the entire organism.
5 MENTAL- made up on the nerves and brain, produces an extreme nervous excitability, quick vivid impressions and a vigilant, sparkling brightness and intellect.

Round size of the head 11 ⅜

THE ORGANS OF THE MIND.

Social Feelings:

5 AMATIVENESS- Love for the opposite sex.

5 CONJUGALITY- Attachment to the marriage tie for life.

6 PARENTATIVENESS- Love of offspring, pets and domestic animals.

5 ADHESIVENESS- Love of society, kin and companions.

4 ½ INHABITIVENESS- Love for native and settled home.

3 CONTINUITY- It attends to one subject-matter at a time, keeps the whole mind fixed upon it, continues uninterruptedly at it till it is thoroughly finished.

Self-Preserving Instincts:

5 VITATIVENESS- Love of earthly existence.

3 ½ COMBATIVENESS- Fortitude to face and repel opposing conditions.

4 ½ DESTRUCTIVENESS- Executive energy to exterminate physical or moral obstructions.

5 ALIMENTIVENESS- Feeding instinct.

4 ½ ACQUISITIVENESS- Property-gathering instinct of industry.”

Insert between pages 1 and 2- ”Written Analysis”

1

Miss G. St. George you inherit a fine grained proportionately adjusted elastics [or, of?] [gavijaton?] composed of fine, limber, [rather?] [?]exceptionally strong muscles are there fore of active [?] rather than robust physical calibre; fond of free [open air?] life [?] the exercises of walking , prone to trip lightly over the ground or whisk [?], soon to say : you move and work easily and with greater [?] [?] and briskness than persistence, are of valuable joyous frame of [spirit hence?]

2

usually merry light hearted and in the best of moods, they sparkle with vivacity, change presently from earnestness to mirth can soon shake off sad fits, gloominess and uneasiness, your head is about average [?] and contains a brain of subtle, active, intellectually at [?], comparatively cool calibre, your mental organs , in consequence move and flow smoothly and gently as the waves of a quiet river displaying more activity than staying [?], moreover you shall find

3

your brain [?] sufficiently by [?] duties of your special pursuits; are [then?] a lady of even tone of character whose traits are mellow, it follows that you march in your allotted sphere free from incongruities, hobbies and striking extremes are of socially attractive, refined, plastic, smooth manners, [possess?] much conciliatory tact, move with ease and grace, speaks in a softly moderated tones of voices, are [anadroit?] manipulator of persons, handle them in a mild way [?] [?] least shadow

4

of hardness, are neither a severe critic of follies and shortcomings of mankind nor a very exacting collector for yourself, are per-fectly up to date, cosmopolitan, feel a decided aversion to antiquated customs, and same-ness, readily adopt improvements and change your methods from sheer love for diversion, employ your abilities in several directions can handle several tasks at the same time, despatch [?] with a sort of ready practicality and immediately step away from

5

your path for the next job, besides you join brains with hand by planning your labors beforehand, make your living head save you hands and kill thus two birds at a simple shake, are a lady of simply practical not ferocious energy, handle objects softly [except, accept?] them at a tempered speed, and do not [turn?] things upside down by being too impet-ous in your modes of procedure at the same time are neither slowly [?] indifferent, for in case

6

of competition you are instantly alive, exert all your efforts to keep on a par with your rivals, obtain the coveted [?] [?] gratify thus your innate ambition to excel are always soli-citous of your reputation and live up to it, are quickly disconcerted, annoyed, discouraged and humbled when misjudged, libelled,wrongly mistreated, harshly rebuked or scorned; equal-ly you feel your spirits droop when you meet with disappointment or any other be-reavement

7

but your elastic gay spirit soon recovers from the heartrending effort are quite [swiftly?] resoleved to earn your own living but with risk [frogets?] that has your comprehension or involve grave responsibility not do you particularly trust to blind chance for [?] are on the whole a lady of modest aspirations and average self confidences [?], in consequence you don’t forget enabled commanding [positions?], for greater is your desire for intellectual accomplishments and personal distinction for

8 [?] merit and public homage are at once frank and politic, [?] [?] requisite worldly wisdom and discretion to bridle your tongue and keep your own affairs private from sheer [prudence?], [poorer, proven?] too [aprovident?] judgments and fertile imagination, are not short sighted with regard to consequences but perfectly able to realise them in the minds, possess quick observing fervor but they do not descent to trifling minute details. Ability for designing models of dressmakers and cutting [?][?] with better skills than doing plaine sewing, hemming and stitching.

Insert between pg. 8 and back pamphlet

You have music in the soul, select equally sweet melodies. Better judge of the quality than weight of mined substances. The words pass smoothly from your lips,and you speak in a rational key, are never tedious, enliven your delivery with [?] of pleasant [?], are never sarcastic.

Back Pamphlet

4 ½ SECRETIVENESS - Control and concealment of the outward signs of the mind's internal movements.

Self Maintaining Sentiments

4 ½ CAUTIOUSNESS- Anticipation and avoidance of danger.

4 ½ SELF ESTEEM- Self-trust, dignity, sense of honor, aspiration for high commanding positions.

X 6 APPROBATIVENESS- Regard for public opinion, love of frame and applause, sensitiveness of character.

4 ½ FIRMNESS- Stability of purpose.

Religio-Moral Sentiments:

5 VENERATION- Sense of worship. RReverence of sovereign authority.

4 SPIRITUALITY- Faith in the invisible workings of the Spirit.

3 ½ HOPE- Anticipation of worldly success and future bliss.

X 6 ½ BENEVOLENCE- Liberality, mercy.

5 CONSCIENTIOUSNESS- Sense of moral obligation.

Self-Improving Sentiments:

4 SUBLIMITY- Love for the majestic and tremendous.

5 IDEALITY- Imaginary conception for things in their supremely perfect stare. Sense of the poetic. En-deavor toward self improvement and ideal excellence

5 CONSTRUCTIVENESS- Building, manufacturing, skill/.

5 IMITATIVENESS- Copying, assimilating, aptitude.

X 6 MIRTHFULNESS- Perception of points of incongruity, absurdity and of resemblances with a difference.

X 7 AGREEABLENESS- Conciliatory smoothness of manner and address.

X 5 ½ HUMAN NATURE- Conception of the innate character of men and animals.

Second page of back pamphlet

The Intellect in the Forehead

Perceptives:

4 INDIVIDUALITY- Instantaneous, distinct perception and recollection of the separate features of a subject-matter down to the smallest point of detail..

X 6 FORM- Perception and memory of faces, letters and models.

4 SIZE- Judgement of weights and measures.

2 GRAVITY- Knowledge of motive power and equilibrium.

4 COLORING- Judgment and memory of colors.

X 6 ORDER- Exactness in arranging things.

4 ½ NUMBER- Mental arithmetic. Recollection of amount and printed numerals.

5 LOCALITY- Knowledge and memory of places.

5 EVENTUALITY- Consciousness of personal identity. Prompt observation and recollection of events, facts and motion. Relativeness of memory.

5 TIME- Knowledge and memory of relations of time.

X 4 ½ TUNE- Judgment and memory of tunes in music.

5 LANGUAGE- Knowledge, memory and ready command of words.

Reflectives:

X 6 COMPARISON- Discerns with subtle precision points of analogy, makes prompt logical deduction from premises. Critical analysis. Comparative sagacity.

5 CAUSALITY- Investigates first causes, foresees farreaching conditions or results. Reflective, organizing and planning capacity.

Qualified for household manager, [?]governor, copyist to an office

Inside of back cover

This complete, descriptious analysis requires and fills it’s pages in entirety.

Back cover

He may be consulted at any hour, will also call at private residences by appoint

ment or telephone message.

In case of his temporary absence, callers may leave their orders with landlord.

For a practically valuable Suggestion to parents:

HAVE YOUR CHILDREN'S HEAD EXAMINED.

Special Terms for Large Families and Parties of Five or More

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A little more about Georgina…

A dignified looking Mrs. Georgina A. Comber (nee. St. George), date unknown.

A young Miss St. George poses for a portrait in Belfast, Ireland on one of her two trips to visit her homeland, date unknown.

Georgie and Walter’s Wedding party, August 1, 1900.

’Georgie’ Georgina Amelia St. George and Walter Comber on their wedding day, August 1, 1900.

Photo of the Hill Croft School featuring letterheads and envelopes. It’s motto, Deo Regi Patriae translates to ‘For God, King and Country’.

Boys out in front on the Hill Croft preparatory academy.

Georgie’s proclivity for accounting, arithmetic, stock trading and financial planning is evidenced in her well kept financial ledger, the date reads 1899.