Portrait of W.C.; aged 34 (artist unknown, c. 1840)

This is Plate XCIV of Sir Alexander Morison's 1840 book The Physiognomy of Mental Diseases. The picture is unusual in that it is a group portrait, whereas most of the plates in the book are of individuals. The text reads:

This fellow is of weak intellect, and subject to fits of epilepsy; he has a kind disposition, and takes a fatherly charge of two idiots, one nine and the other fifteen years old, both of whom seem fond of him. This view exhibits the mutual attachment that appears to exist between these unfortunate and helpless beings.

With thanks to Iain Milne, Head of Library and Information Services, John Dallas, Rare Books Librarian, and staff at the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh.