Bust-length portrait of the criminal., In Sampson, M. B. Rationale of crime and its appropriate treatment; being a treatise on criminal jurisprudence considered in relation to cerebral organization. Edited by Eliza W. Farnham (Philadelphia, 1846), p. 160., “My acknowledgements are due to the officers of the Penitentiary on Blackwell’s Island for their politeness in furnishing me with facilities for taking the daguerreotypes, and to Mr. L. N. Fowler for aiding me in the selection of cases; nor must I omit to name Mr. Edward Serrell, who was obliging enough to take the outline drawings for me; or Mr. Brady, to whose indefatigable patience with a class of the most difficult of all sitters, is due the advantage of a very accurate set of daguerreotypes.” -- Introductory preface by Mrs. Farnham, p. xx., “The drawing indicates a large development of the perceptive, the mechanical and musical powers, with excessive secretiveness and destructiveness. But the most striking feature of her head is the extreme shortness from individuality to philoprogenitiveness. Her impatience and restlessness prevented the side view from being taken….”--P. 160.
The valentine depicts a stout woman with a hooked nose holding three dresses in her arms. "Old Clothes" is written behind her. The border features a woman embracing a man; the pair resemble Commedia dell'arte characters. At the bottom is a pack of matches marked "Lucifer's matches.", Text: My stout Jerusalem artichoke / I greet you with a hearty joke / Because you've cash to lend me when I'm low. / My mind completely rapt it is / Your nose so well adapted is / For snuffing up a bargain of "Old clo'"!, Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
