In 1843 a phrenologist examined the skull of Benjamin Franklin Perry. He presented his subject with a chart rating the strengths and weaknesses of his mental developments: Amativeness large, Combativeness large, Acquisitiveness full. “He gave my character entirely and perfectly,” Perry marveled. The chart revealed Perry to himself. “It seemed like unlocking to me my bosom.” Phrenologists sold self-knowledge in the form of character readings. After an examination of one’s cranial morphology, one could purchase a chart documenting the phrenologist’s numerical evaluation of each organ of the brain. Some phrenologists offered manuscript versions of these charts: detailed descriptions of a customer’s character, with practical suggestions for self- improvement in the realms of education, marriage, diet, and other aspects of life. Though handwritten, these charts were often not as personalized as they seemed. Phrenologists could treat their customers as members of generic groups, commodifying individual self-knowledge through technologies of mass production. This paper examines the business of phrenological readings, with an emphasis on the American practical phrenology in the antebellum years. How was self-knowledge bought and sold in the era of the idealized “self-made man”? How did customers understand and make use of their character readings?
