London: George Philip & son, 1860

Bridges applied phrenological principles to the crime problem, claiming that ‘It is only people with a certain type of brain who commit murders, and so long as individuals are allowed at large with this type, we shall have murders.’ Different types of brain were thought to produce different types of skull shape, and therefore by studying the skulls of known murderers one could identify the shape of skull characteristic of a murderer. Bridges goes one step further by claiming that persons with this skull type ‘should not be allowed their liberty’ – hinting that they should be imprisoned for life.

1860.7.556, pp. 52-53