Galton's theories on eugenics, 1880s. Frontispiece of 'Inquiries into Human Faculty and its Development' (1883) by British polymath and founder of eugenics Francis Galton (1822-1911). Galton developed (initially in parallel with Herbert Spencer) the idea and method of combining images, (Galton used negative exposures) of the faces of a number of individuals sharing a perceived 'characteristic' (health, race, profession, criminality etc) to gain an average type. These composites were used in anthropological research and identification of generic lines of descent. Galton believed composite photography scientifically formalised the physical traits people use everyday to make classification judgements of people. This albumen silver print shows specimens of composite portraiture.