Phrenological Development of Robert Burns / From a Cast of His Skull Moulded at Dumfries, the 31st Day of March 1834

A phrenological analysis based on a posthumous cast of a poet’s skull, presenting measurements, anatomical observations, and a numbered scale for the phrenological organs. The author records the cast’s preservation and cranial dimensions, then interprets relative strengths among appetites, domestic affections, moral sentiments, and intellectual faculties. He concludes the brain was large and active, combining powerful animal propensities with strong benevolence and ideality, producing intense feeling, creative sensibility, and energetic temperament, while also creating internal conflicts that could lead to both notable virtue and serious moral difficulty.