“Building
on her Colonial Photography and Exhibitions, Maxwell traces
the role of photography in the rise and fall of the eugenics movement.
Photos helped promote diverse agendas from British scientist Francis
Galton’s first use of the medium to depict the new ‘science’
of human breeding to the Nazis’ justification of their master
race ideology and infamous policies. Eugenics also gained popularity
in the U.S. in an era of socioeconomic upheaval. The author shows
how counter-racial purity images by German anthropologist Franz
Boas and African American sociologist W. E. B. Du Bois, among others,
led to the discrediting of scientific racism.” Reference
& Research Book News
“With well over 100 photographs to support
the analysis, this examination of the influence of photography
on the eugenics movement adds an important chapter to the
history of better breeding. Focusing mainly on the UK, US,
and Germany, Maxwell divides her book into three sections:
a history of the movement; how advocates used photographs
to educate the public about the need to sterilize the “unfit”;
and how a group composed mostly of anthropologists used photographs
to refute the arguments made by eugenicists. She notes that
in the early 1900s the photograph was seen as capturing reality
and revealing truth. The eugenic mug shot, the favourite type
of picture used by proponents, reframed reality for those
persons already troubled by the social disruption caused by
rapid industrialization, and frightened by the increasing
number of immigrants who arrived to work in industrial factories.
Eugenicists played to the emotions of the white Anglo-Saxon
Protestants who feared that they were losing control of their
world. Thus, by placing structural analysis of the visual
archive of the movement demonstrates that, in this case, a
picture was worth a thousand words. Recommended.” Choice
“The use of images to convince the public,
politicians, and medical and social welfare professionals of the
danger of atavistic degenerates and defectives was a critical tool
in the early twentieth-century eugenicists’ arsenal. Anne
Maxwell’s book Picture Imperfect provides an excellent introduction
to the role of photography in the eugenicist’s propaganda.
In her study, Maxwell examines the topic of eugenics through the
lenses of anthropology, sociology, and the history of scientific
racism.
… This book is an exceptional examination of the use of photography
within the eugenic movement from the end of the nineteenth century
up to the start of the Second World War. The numerous photographs
selected for inclusion in the text are superb. Their reproduction
is very good. For those interested in eugenics and scientific racism
this book would be a valuable addition to their library. It is written
for the academic and the interested general reader with some knowledge
of eugenics.” Canadian Journal of History
