galton.org 9
Description of the Composites
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faces that have a moderate family likeness will blend into a single one.
That neither of these predominated in the present case will be learned
from the following letter by the father of the ladies, who is himself a
photographer
“I am exceedingly obliged for the very curious and interesting composite portraits of
my two children. Knowing the faces so well, it caused me quite a surprise when I opened
your letter. I put one of the full faces on the table for the mother to pick up casually. She
said, “When did you do this portrait of A? how like she is to B! Or is it B? I never thought
they were so like before.” It has puzzled several people to say whether the profile was
intended for A or B. Then I tried one of them on a friend who has not seen the girls for
years. He said, “Well, it is one of the family for certain, but I don’t know which.”
I have made several other family portraits, which to my eye seem great
successes, but must candidly own that the persons whose portraits are
blended together seldom seem to care much for the result, except as a
curiosity. We are all inclined to assert our individuality, and to stand on
our own basis, and to object to being mixed up indiscriminately with
others. The same feeling finds expression when the resident in a suburban
street insists on calling his house a villa with some fantastic name, and
refuses, so long as he can, to call it simply Number so and so in the street.
The last picture in the upper row shows the easy way in which young
and old, male and female, combine to form an effective picture. The
components consist in this case of the father and mother, two sons, and
two daughters. I exhibited the original of this, together with the portraits
from which it was taken, at the Loan Photographic Exhibition at the
Society of Arts in February 1882. I also sent copies of the original of this
same composite to several
amateur photographers, with a circular letter
asking them to get from me family groups for the purpose of experiments,
to see how far the process was suitable for family portraiture.
The middle row of portraits illustrates health, disease, and criminality.
For health, I have combined the portraits of twelve officers of the Royal
Engineers with about an equal number of privates, which were taken for
me by
