Portable physiognotrace used by Raphaelle Peale

A physiognotrace allowed artists to trace the outline of a sitter’s head and simultaneously record a small profile on a piece of paper. The silhouette head was then cut from the paper. The style of this portable case suggests a piece of furniture rather than a tool, perhaps to impress sitters. Raphaelle Peale traveled throughout America with this object, using it to cut silhouettes of everyone from Thomas Jefferson to ordinary citizens.

Physiognomy involves reading a person’s character through his or her facial features, and while modern science disputes this notion, many people in the 1800s believed that a head’s outline conveyed character and offered a means of classification.

Wood (mahogany) with ivory knobs and metal rod, early 19th century

Purchased through a generous donation from the Barra Foundation

Credit: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; purchased through a generous donation from the Barra Foundation