The National Library of Medicine has posted some details about Alphonse Bertillon’s mugshot classifications, with some instructional pictures for police who were implementing the system.
Bertillon’s system was based on five primary measurements:
(1) head length;
(2) head breadth;
(3) length of the middle finger;
(4) the length of the left foot;
(5) the length of the “cubit” (the forearm from the elbow to the extremity of the middle finger).
Each principal heading was further subdivided into three classes of “small,” “medium” and “large.” The length of the little finger and the eye color were also recorded.
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