CHOICE AND CHANCE. . 48 
For any given nation at any given time, there is a certain typical or average 
man, whose dimensions could be obtained by taking the average dimensions of 
all the men of the nation. Mr. Galton has even shown us how to obtain his pho- 
tograph.* This is done by taking photographs of a large number of men, mak- 
ing the photographs of the proper size relatively, and taken in similar positions, 
although no great exactness is necessary. 
Each photograph is then exposed to the camera in such a way that all the 
faces are re-photographed successively on a common plate. The best method of 
doing this, is to pin the first photograph to a block which can be set up in front 
of the camera. Its position there is fixed by nails driven into the base board, so 
that the block may be removed andreplaced in exactly the same position. In 
order that the next picture may be exposed in the same way, an ivory or wooden 
scale, with a beveled edge, is placed with its edge tangent to the iris of the eyes, 
and with any division of the scale bisecting the nose. ‘The position of the ruler 
is then fixed by guide nails or pins, driven into the block. ‘This enables each 
photograph to be placed in the same position on the block, and the block to be 
always placed in the same position before the camera. 
Each portrait is then exposed for a few seconds to the same plate, so that 
when it is finally developed a generalized picture is obtained. 
It is not a portrait of any one person; it represents a type, in which those 
points which are common, are emphasized, and the purely individual peculiari- 
ties are almost wholly suppressed. The greater the number of component pic- 
tures the more truly will the resulting composite picture represent a type. We 
present here a composite picture from three criminals. It is from a wood cut in 
Mr. Galton’s paper. As Mr. Galton remarks, ‘‘the villainous irregularities of 
the originals have. disappeared, and the common humanity that underlies them 
has prevailed. This picture represents then, not so much the criminal, as the 
man who is liable to commit crime.” [Portraits of nine members of the univer- 
sity faculty were also shown, together with the results obtained, by combining 
them in various groups.| It is evident that this work of Mr. Galton is an im- 
mense step in the study of race characteristics, and as has been suggested by him, 
it will be of immense service to art in enabling artists to study various types of 
beauty. th : 
These portraits are shown here to aid you in forming a definite idea of what 
is meant by an average or typical man. 
If, however, we wish to get the azmensions of the average man, we must re- 
sort to physical measurements. In this way it was determined that the height of 
the American soldier is 68 inches; his chest measurement is 35 inches, etc. 
These determinations were derived from the measurements of 26,000 soldiers of 
the Union army. The greater number of the men approximate the mean height, © 
the number taller and shorter diminishing with great regularity to the dwarfs of 
5 feet, and the giants of 6 feet 4 inches. 
*Nature, Vol. 13, p. 95. 
