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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons.

Sibly irresistible

Alexandra Roginski reveals a forceful feminist figure in the colonial period’s slippery science, phrenology.

More information on Sibly irresistible

Selected images

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Madame Sibly, Phrenologist and Mesmerist
Madame Sibly, Phrenologist and Mesmerist, c. 1870 James E. Bray
Professor Pepper and his ghosts, 1879 by David Syme & Co.
Professor Pepper and his ghosts, 1879 by David Syme & Co.
Mechanics Institute, Ballarat, 1868 by W H Harrison
Mechanics Institute, Ballarat, 1868 by W H Harrison
Lectures on Phrenology, c. 1860s by S R Wells and New York phrenological journal
Lectures on Phrenology, c. 1860s by S R Wells and New York phrenological journal
Phrenological chart and analysis of David Jones, 1871 by Marie Sibly
Phrenological chart and analysis of David Jones, 1871 by Marie Sibly
Mind and Body: A Monthly Journal Devoted to the Study of Human Nature and the Laws of Health, 1904 Phrenological and Health Institute of Australasia
Mind and Body: A Monthly Journal Devoted to the Study of Human Nature and the Laws of Health, 1904 Phrenological and Health Institute of Australasia
Spruiker for Madame Carlreno, 1936 unknown photographer
Spruiker for Madame Carlreno, 1936 unknown photographer
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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

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