In 1934 Henry Wellcome purchased the photographic collection of his friend, the anthropologist Edwin Nichol Fallaize, who said he was "most anxious that it should be made available for students of anthropology". The collection, housed in an ordinary black tin trunk, was kept in storage, where it remained until 1991, when curators from the Wellcome Library opened it to reveal more than 1200 photographs - around 70 per cent of which were of women, often in a state of undress.

Little is known of Fallaize. Born in Jersey in 1877, he was Honorary Secretary of the Royal Anthropological Institute between 1919 and 1930, and published a number of articles on anthropological matters. It seems likely that he met Wellcome through their shared interest in anthropology.

The question of health as related to ethnic type was a topic of hot debate at that time. "It is hardly necessary to point out the inestimable value an accurate and detailed survey of the physique of the population would have been in computing man power at the beginning of the war," Fallaize argued in his article 'Why Britain Needs a Race Survey' in Discovery magazine in 1929.

In 1912, the Royal Anthropological Institute issued a memorandum explaining the importance of photographs as: "A permanent record of racial types, and the methods employed by the primitive craftsman". The memorandum goes on to suggest the best way to take photographic records and advises: "Photographs in the nude, though desirable, are usually difficult to obtain without extreme tact, and even then at the risk of disturbing friendly relationship [sic] with a tribal group."

When your tribal group is Edwardian England, nude photographs are particularly difficult to obtain, so most of the pictures in Fallaize's collection are professional shots which he bought either from rather shady establishments or by mail order. International in scope, the photographs include some ethnic practices - for example there is one of a snake charmer at work - and portraits of people with unusual characteristics. The latter include a family portrait of a Frenchman with no arms or legs, surrounded by his wife and children, and Madame Clementine Delait, whose luxuriant beard made her something of a celebrity in her day. Margaret Agniel, a New York health and beauty guru of the 1920s, is pictured performing muscle-strengthening exercises in glamorous attire - a forerunner of the celebrity fitness videos of today.

Few similar collections are known, and a properly curated and catalogued collection may help bring to light other valuable resources. The Fallaize photographs are a rare resource, which to the viewer today are as interesting for their reflection of the mores of Edwardian society as they are as records of ethnic characteristics. Fallaize photographs have been featured in several books and exhibitions, including the Tate exhibition 'The Victorian Nude', which is currently on tour in Brooklyn before heading off to Kobe. Not bad for images which didn't see the light of day for 60 years.

See also

• The Proper Study of Mankind?: Details of a previous Wellcome Library reading room exhibition about Edwin Nichol Fallaize and Edwardian anthropology

External links

• The Royal Anthropological Institute