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wood prints portrait wood prints eugenics wood prints heredity wood prints inheritance wood prints genetics wood prints social darwinism wood prints racism wood prints bigotry wood prints galton wood prints francis galton wood prints british wood prints social anthropology wood prints composite wood prints jew wood prints jewish wood prints

photographs portrait photos eugenics photos heredity photos inheritance photos genetics photos social darwinism photos racism photos bigotry photos galton photos francis galton photos british photos social anthropology photos composite photos jew photos jewish photos

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British anthropologist Sir Francis Galton (1822-1911), fearing the demise of both the upper classes and of the "highly evolved" white race, was interested in "improving" human evolution by applying the theories of his cousin Charles Darwin's 'The Origin of the Species' to human reproduction. Founding the study of "eugenics," he believed that it was important to discourage reproduction in people who had genetic defects or perceived undesirable traits (negative eugenics) and encourage reproduction in people who had (what he viewed as) inheritable and desirable traits (positive eugenics). He proposed that composite photography could be a useful tool in visualizing types or ideals such as the tubercular, the prize-winning racehorse, the Jew, and the criminal. Pictured here is one of his Jewish composites.