Essays on Physiognomy

Johann Caspar Lavater's 1775–1778 illustrated treatise arguing that facial features reveal character — the most widely read scientific-theological work of the late 18th century — translated into English and French and directly influencing Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and 19th century racial science.

Systematized physiognomy into what appeared to be a scientific program — with detailed illustrations, a theological framework (the face reflects the soul), and seemingly verifiable claims — making it the most influential example of how a pseudoscience can organize cultural anxieties about visible difference.