Explore objects revealing the many ways medical professionals have thought about and treated mental illness, as well as attempts to measure and categorise people, whether physically or mentally.
Psychology, Psychiatry & Anthropometry
1990-1999
Group housing unit for up to 5 rodents, used at the Psychology Department, Guildhall University. NKP Cages, England, 1990-1999.
1920-1970
Form Board 'A' by PA Management Consultants Ltd.
1957-1959
Growth and Development Record from the Child Study Centre, filled in with patient details.
Seven contact pencils by Hawksley and Sons Ltd., London, and one contact pencil by C.F. Palmer, London, in box addressed to Bedford College, dated 22 September 1934
32 toys from the personal "Wonder Box" (sand box) of Margaret Lowenfeld; used in child psychotherapy (the "Lowenfeld World Technique"), devised by psychologist Margaret Lowenfeld, 1925-1930
1948
Uncompleted mechanical restraint register
Thin wooden peg board with approximately 800 holes, no maker marked
1982
General instruction sheet (dated 1982) for administration of electro-convulsive therapy (ECT), entitled 'How to give ECT', used at St. Francis Psychiatric Hospital, Haywards Heath, 1982-1990. Diagrams created by G. McGregor Jan 1982
Full set of Lowenfeld mosaics ('Standard Box'), consisting of 456 plastic tiles in five different geometric shapes and six primary colours, made to be sold alongside the book _The Lowenfeld Mosaic Test in Clinical Practice_ (1986), by American psychologist Dr. Eugene Perticone. Manufactured in UK, c.1986 (and assembled by Lowenfeld's students) for export to the USA. Single clasp on case.
1826
Plaster cast of the head of a member of the Brazilian Botocudos tribe, probably for phrenological use, by O'Neil, Edinburgh, 1826.
1965-1995
Pursuit rotor with light wand and three geometric figure templates, used in experiments on motor-perception, 1965-1995.
1947
Clarke and Horsley stereotactic apparatus (cat brain tester) by Muirhead and Co. Ltd., 1947
1893
Brass cylinder weight used for testing individual's perception of weight. Number '10' engraved on the base. Cambridge Instrument Co., Cambridge, 1893
1870-1910
Large sliding compass (grand compass a glissiere) for the measurement of the foot, the middle and little finger and the elbow in Bertillon's anthropometrical criminal identification system, perhaps Bertillon's own, from the Identification Bureau of the Paris Prefecture of Police, c. 1883
Basket used by asylum patients for carrying laundry and stores
1831-1900
Painted plaster head and stand, representing French criminal Norbert after execution, collected by Dr. Gachet, probably for phrenological use, French, 1831-1900.
about 1928
A 'Test 64', punch operator's test, electromechanical, 1920-1939.
1988-1990
Geodesic brain impulse sensor net, by Electrical Geodesics Incorporated, United States, 1988-90. Plastic sensors with sponge and silver chloride electrodes on copper wire, for EEG recordings, particularly of young children. Used at the Cognitive Development Unit, University College London, 1990-1998.
1948-1980
Clinical Records folder, containing two blank pages, marked 'St. Francis Hospital', 1948-1980.
1859-1948
Fork marked with the Brighton Mental Hospital Stamp. Made in Brighton, c.1859-1948.
1930-1939
Wooden tray for use with a set of Lowenfeld mosaics, used at Lowenfeld’s Institute of Child Psychology and probably dating from the 1930s.
1980-1990
Operant conditioning chamber ("Skinner Box") with two feeding hoppers, used in psychological experiments on learning in the rat, used at the Department of Psychology, University of Liverpool. Campden Instruments, Leicester, England, UK, 1980-1990.
1909-1970
Plastic model of an aeroplane, missing propellor, made by Palitoy, made in England, used in Margaret Lowenfeld's 'World Technique', 1909-1970
Colour booklet, 14 pages.
1870-1890
Broca's occipital crochet for distinguishing the skulls of different races by measuring the inclination of the plane of the occipital foramen, by Mathieu, Paris, 1870-1890
1828-1914
Removable wooden lid to secret compartment, also acts as a pen rest, from writing desk of the Office of the Metropolitan Commissioners in Lunacy.
Black leather purse with a metal clasp and the crest of the Commisioners in Lunacy, 1828 - 1914, leather, metal, (stored in writing desk of the Office of the Metropolitan Commissioners in Lunacy)
c.1950
Assorted psychological tests for studying language, used by Aberdeen City Council Psychological Services.
1931-1936
Test materials for Sensameter intelligence test, comprised of 25 test objects, including 'dextemeter' test for 'inherent manipulative power' (an accompanying sheet proposes its use for testing the inability to drive).
1939-1945
Box of card and linen tokens used as an incentive for patients taking part in occupational therapy, unsigned, England, 1939-1945.
1801-1900
Anonymous plaster head on stand probably representing excuted French criminal, collected by Dr. Gachet, probably for phrenological use, French, 19th century.
1984
Plastic ballpoint pen with cap in the shape of a telephone handset advertising "Dial a Shrink", J.B. Norman, Consultant Psychologists of Park St., Bristol, English, 1984.
1850-1920
Replica of a forearm restraint, made of leather with iron buckles. The original, probably from the late 19th or early 20th century, was found around 1930 in a chest in the cellar at Hanwell Asylum, the asylum on the outskirts of London whose superintendant, John Conolly (1794-1866), famously renounced all instruments of mechanical restraint in favor of 'moral treatment,' that is, regular labour under constant close surveillance.
1886-1965
C20 gilt-painted signboard displaying presidents of the British Phrenological Society from 1886-1965, English
c. 1960
Memory drum, for use in experiments on memory; acquired by the Department of Psychology, University of Warwick c 1975, and made in England c 1960.
Ivory phrenological head, with areas marked off and numbered, on circular stand
1930-1940
Replica of leather restraint belt with manacles attached for the wrists. The original, probably from the late 19th or early 20th century, was found around 1930 in a chest in the cellar at Hanwell Asylum, the asylum on the outskirts of London whose superintendant, John Conolly (1794-1866), famously renounced all instruments of mechanical restraint in favor of 'moral treatment,' that is, regular labour under constant close surveillance.
Wooden tray for use with a set of Lowenfeld mosaics, used at Lowenfeld’s Institute of Child Psychology and probably dating from the 1930s, marked in a later period with the name ‘T.M.Woodcock’, i.e. Thérèse Mei-Yau Woodcock, a leading exponent of Lowenfeld’s techniques.
1801-1830
Wooden snuff box, cylindrical, top illustrated with print of three views of a phrenological skull, possibly French
1921-1950
A 'Timothy I' test of mechanical aptitude (test apparatus only).
1950-1980
5 piece Manikin object assembly test for use in the Weschler Adult Intelligence Test distributed by The National Foundation for Educational Research in England and Wales, 79 Wimpole Street, London, W1 by arrangement with the Psychological Corporation, New York, original blue box (2001-379/4)
Half set of Lowenfeld mosaics (later called the ‘Minor Box’) , containing 228 tiles in five different geometric shapes and six primary colours. Originally developed by Margaret Lowenfeld in the 1930s, this set, with wooden pieces in a hinged wooden case, dates from that very early period. These more portable versions of the mosaics, which contained half as many pieces as the standard set, were used as non-verbal tools by anthropologists in the field.
1946
Alexander Performance Test, a performance test for children, 7.0 to 19.11 years old, invented by W.P. Alexander in 1946 and published by Nelson and Sons Ltd in 1946.
1961-1964
Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (Experimental Edition); an assessment of language development in exceptional children, 2.3-9.9 years old; invented by James J. McCarthy and Samuel A. Kick in 1961 and published by the Institute for Research on Exceptional Children, 1961-1964; as used by the Department of Psychology at the University of Liverpool, c.1960-2000.
Record marked 'J' on one side and 'G' on other, no maker marked, in brown paper sleeve. 'G' side of record has handwritten note 'This side not required for Edinburgh' and 'Brown'.
1960-1970
Decade impulse counter, used in experiments on rodent behaviour at the Psychology Department, Guildhall University, 1960-1980 but originally purchased by L.J. Herberg of the Institute of Neurology, 1964.
1960-1990
Peg Board, consisting of a two 3 x 10 grids, with four depressions for pegs (missing), as used by the Department of Psychology at the University of Liverpool, c.1980-2000.
Five wooden shapes (larger), no maker marked
1950-1990
Caplan ECT apparatus, with headset, by Multitone Electronic Company Ltd., and general instruction sheet (dated 1982) for administration of ECT, used at St. Francis Psychiatric Hospital, Haywards Heath, 1950-1990.
1930-1970
Box of approximately 100 small, plastic rectangular tiles, each with a short slot at one end, stamped with various images, possibly stimulus material for a tachistoscope, stored in a box labeled 'In-line Digital Display Unit. (BPS Inv. No. 0068)
