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#135 Vaught's Practical Character Reader - L.A. Vaught w/ Capitalisimo

January 18, 2026 · 1 h 54 min

Show notes

I tend to think of phrenology as a 19th-century phenomenon. In 1902, LA Vaught, late to the party, published 'Vaught's Practical Character Reader', a work seeking to (re)popularise phrenology. Mostly charming drawings and advertisements for phrenology ('it's plain to see!' is a commonly used phrase), it's a fun read, albeit one that is so chaotically set out that it's kinda hard to follow.


Capitalisimo joined me for this episode, helping me to phrenologically and physiognomically analyse various world leaders and luminaries.


NB: This episode is probably best watched as a video, as we examine Vaught's illustrations and carry out phrenological case studies using Google image search.

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