CHAPTER XV 



PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION 



"It became gradually clear that three facts had to be established before it would be possible 

 to advocate the use of finger-prints for criminal or other investigations. First it must be proved, 

 not assumed, that the pattern of a finger-print is constant throughout life. Secondly that the 

 variety of patterns is really very great. Thirdly that they admit of being so classified, or 

 'lex iconised,' that when a set of them is submitted to an expert, it would be possible for him 

 to tell, by reference to a suitable dictionary, or its equivalent, whether a similar set had been 

 already registered. These things I did, but they required much labour." Galton: Memories of 

 my Life, p. 254., 



Fore 



Fbre 



LEFT 



RIGHT 



Fig. 15. 



§ I. History and Controversy. 



The writer must confess to having felt not a little puzzled when he had to 

 determine in what order to present Galton's work on Personal Identification. 

 It is not only that his work was scattered over very numerous publications, 

 but that in order to make it effective Galton had to step into the public 

 arena; and this had its usual consequences, namely controversy and misrepre- 

 sentation, factors which had hitherto played but a small part in Galton's 

 career. On the whole it is strange how little controversy intruded on Galton's 

 long and quiet years of study; this was in part due to the peace-loving mind 

 of the man, but there were also other causes at work. In the first place 

 he was labouring most of his life in an entirely untilled field, and there 

 could be no friction therefore with other pioneers. In the next place his 

 fellow scientists were slow to realise that the new logical tools he was 



