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The Victorian genius of Earlswood – a review of the case of James Henry Pullen

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2014

Caoimhghin S Breathnach  and
Conor Ward
Conor Ward
Affiliation:
Departments of Anatomy & Physiology, Paediatrics and Maurice Kennedy Research Centre for Emeritus Staff, NUI University College Dublin, Ireland
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Summary

London born James Henry Pullen (1836–1915) was admitted to Essex Hall in Colchester, an institution catering for learning disability, at the age of 13. Here his artistic talent was spotted before he moved two years later to Earlswood Asylum for Idiots, where he was apprenticed to woodworking. Such was his manual skill he was eventually employed making furniture for the asylum. His artistic propensity was similarly encouraged and although he never mastered coherent speech he has left a pictorial autobiography of some distinction. At observation he underwent detailed examination by Frederich Sano (1871–1946), particular attention being paid to tokens of arrested development. The clinical and pathological evidence of a pervasive developmental disorder points to a retrospective diagnosis of autism.

Keywords

HistoryAutismVictorian geniusLearning disabilityDevelopmental disorder
Type
Historical
Information
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine , Volume 22 , Issue 4 , December 2005 , pp. 151 - 155
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2005

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