Page:Science vol. 5.djvu/410

 [Vol. v.. No. 1I«.

��COMPOSITE PORTRAITS OF MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIE.XCES,

Those of the memhers who were present at the Washington meeting of the academ}' last spring will remember, that, at the request of Professor Brewer and myself, they sat for their separate phott^raphcd jwrtraits for the purpose of obtaining an experimental composite picture. Professor Baird kindlj- offered the facilities of the photographic department ; and the pictures taken by Mr. Smilie, the photographer in charge, bear the same stamp of excellence that char- acterizes so generally the work of that depart- ment of the national museum.

As only one or two jjrevious attempts, I believe, have been made to produce composites in this country, I will state briefly what Ihey are. and how they are made.

The idea in its broadest sense was conceived and applied by Francis Gallon for the purpose of obtaining an average or type portrait; i.e., a picture that should show the features that are common to a group of individuals, and exclude those that are purely individual. It is clear, that, in proiiortion as Ibis result is attainable, the method will be of value in obtaining a clear conception of the external charncteristicB of any gl\'en type or class.

Gallon reminds us, that, during the first days of a traveller's meeting with a very different race, he finds it impossible to distinguish one from another, without making a special effort to do ao: to him the whole race looks nhke, excepting distinctions of age and sex. The reason of this is, that, by short contacts with many individuals, lie receives upon his retina, and has recorded Upon his memory, a com- posite picture emphasizing only what is com- mon to the race, and omitting the individuali- ties. This also explains the common fact that resemblances among members of a family are more patent lo slraugers than to the relatives.

The individuals entering iulo these com- posites were all pholograplied in ihe same position. Two points were marked on the ground glass of the camera ; and the instru- ment was moved at each sitting to make the eyes of the sitter exactly coincident with these points. The comijosiles were made by my assistant, Mr. B. T. Putnam, who introdncctl the negatives snccesBively into an apparatus carefully constructed by himself, and essentially like that designed by Mr. Gallon, where they were photographed by transmitted light. The arrangements of the conditions of light, etc., were such Ihiit an aggregate exposure of sixty-

��two seconds would be sutlicient to lake a good picture. What was wanted, however, was not an impression of one portrait on the plate, but of all the thirty-one ; nod to do this required that the aggregate exposure of all the thiity- one should be sixty-two seconds, or only two seconds for each. Now. an exposure of two seconds is, under the adopted conditions, too short to produce a perceptible effect. It results from this, that only those features or lines that are common to all are perfectly given, and that what is common lo a small number is only faintly given, while Individ nali ties are imjjer- cepliblo. The greater Ihe physical resem- blances among the individuals, the better will be the composites. A composite of a family or of near relatives, where there is an under- lying sameness of features, gives a very shaip and individual-looking picture.

It would be difllcult to find thirty-one intel- ligent mou more diverse among themselves as regards facial likeness than the academician* entering into this composite. They are a group selected as a type of the higher American intel- ligence in the field of abstract science, all but one or two being of American birth, and nearly all being of American ancestry for several gen- erations. The faces give to me an idea of per- fect equilibrium, of marked intelligence, and, what must be inseparable from the latter in a scientiQc investigator, of imaginativeness. The expression of absolute repose is doubtless due to the complete neutrality of the portraits.

Fig. 3 contains eighteen naturalists and thir- teen mathematicians, whose average age is about 52 years. Fig. 1 contains twelve mathe- maticians, including both astronomers and physicists, whose average age is about 51f years. Fig. 2 is a comjwsitc of sixteen natnr* alists, including seven biologists, three chem- ists, and six geologists, with an average age of about 52^ years.

I may mention, as perhaps only a remark- able coincidence, that the positives of the mathematicians, and also of the thirty -one aca- demicians, suggested to me at once forcibly the face of a member of the academy who belong to a family of mathematicians, but who ha| pened not to be among the sitters for the coi posite. In the prints this resemblance is I strong, hut in these it was observed quite ii dependeutly by many members of the academy, So, also, in the positive of the naturalists, thi face suggested, also quite independently mjself and many others, was tiiat of a vert eminent naturalist, deceased several ycai before the silting for this composite.

Tiiere is given also a composite (fig. 4)

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