The Victorian age prided itself (most of the time) on being quite scientific. One of the trends of the day was the belief that a person's character could be determined by various physical characteristics. On the serious side, this was the basis of the Bertillon system, which originated in France and was widely used in England as well. The Bertillon system attempted to establish a set of characteristics by which criminal tendencies could be identified or predicted, based on a host of measurements of existing criminals. Other more humorous articles offer ways to determine a person's character from, say, the back, the hand, the ears, and so forth. As we often say, don't try this at home!

Phrenology (Collier's Cyclopedia, 1882)

Characters in Hands (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1886)

Ideas on what hands can reveal about character.

Characters in Backs (The Impressions of a Noticing Eye) (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1886)

What a discerning eye can learn about a person by looking at them from the back!

Characters in Hair (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1887)

Characters in Feet (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1888)

An Anatomy of Handwriting (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1890)

Some Victorian examples of handwriting analysis.

A Study in Backs (Lady's Realm, 1901)

From the back: The respectable woman, the horsey woman, the vulgar woman, the "new" woman, and so on.

Measurements & Identification of Criminals

The Identification of Criminals in France, by Edmund R. Spearman (English Illustrated Magazine, 1890A)

The Bertillon method of identifying criminals (and criminal types) by measurements.

Identifying Criminals (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1894)

New techniques in identifying culprits, including fingerprints!

An Expert in Handwriting, by Harry How (The Strand, 1894B)

Early examples of the use of handwriting analysis in criminal cases.

Measurement Identification of Criminals, by Col. Howard Vincent (English Illustrated Magazine, 1895A)

More on the Bertillon method of identifying criminals and criminal "types."

Freaks and Tricks in Handwriting (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1896)

Detective Day at Holloway, by Alfred Aylmer (Windsor Magazine, 1897B)

Three days a week, police detectives would visit Holloway Prison to determine and establish the identities of the prisoners therein.