Technologies

Head and hand of a drownee, 1864

In atlases and manuals of legal medicine, 19th-century forensic pathologists used pictures and words to show students and colleagues their methodology—a precise inventorying of the condition of the victim's body. The chromolithograph, which could render coloration, texture and subtle shading, was particularly well suited to the task.

Johann Ludwig Casper, M.D., Atlas zum Handbuch der gerichtlichen Medicin [Atlas for the Manual of Legal Medicine], Berlin; Artist: Hugo Troschel; Lithographer: Winckelmann & Sons

National Library of Medicine

The 19th-century revolution in forensic imaging

In the 19th century, forensic pathologists began using pictures and words to show how various conditions appear in the cadaver, and to teach students and colleagues new methods of analysis. Line drawings, half-tone photography, and chromolithography, which could render coloration, texture, and subtle shading, became increasingly common as improvements in print technology made detailed illustrations cheaper to produce.