SOAP, SKIN, AND SKULLS: INTO THE MACABRE WORLD OF THE MÜTTER MUSEUM

Collections Corner | Kara Annett

---

  

Some of the skulls at the Mütter Museum. Source.

As we bid goodbye to October, I’m filled with a sense of dread knowing it won’t be long before stores start blasting Mariah Carey and Michael Bublé again and reminding us how it’s the most wonderful time of the year. To me, Halloween is the most wonderful time of the year and instead of hanging stockings by the chimney with care and visions of sugar plum fairies dancing in my head, I’m wondering how much longer I can get away with playing “The Monster Mash” and keeping the paper skeleton on my door. It’s no surprise then that I decided to write about one of the eeriest museum collections in the world; that’s right, today we’re delving into the marvellously macabre collections of the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia.

Founded in 1858 by Thomas Dent Mütter, the original purpose of the museum was to improve and expand upon medical education. The original collection of 1,700 objects has grown to over 25,000 and includes oddities such as sections of Albert Einstein’s brain and the unfortunately named Soap Lady, a poor woman whose body developed a fatty covering following burial (I don’t recommend looking up pictures of her after midnight because it definitely does not look like soap). Fellow bookworms might be interested in the world’s largest collection of anthropodermic bibliopegy, or books bound in human skin (this one is safe to Google, I promise). What’s most iconic, however, is their vast collection of skulls and skeletons.

A glimpse at just some of the skulls. Source. 

The Hyrtl Skull Collection came into the museum’s possession in 1874 through Dr. Joseph Hyrtl, a Viennese physician who studied 139 skulls to disprove phrenology, a popular theory at the time that stated a person’s intelligence, race, and personality could be determined by the shape and size of their skull. Hyrtl documented his findings on the sides of the skulls and his subjects mainly comprised of the poor and criminals from all over the world. Amongst those on display in the cabinet are Andrew Sokoloff, a Russian man who died of self-inflicted castration, and Francisa Seycora, a famous Viennese prostitute who died at 19 from meningitis. The skulls themselves are just as varied as the people they came from, with no two looking the same. Some have bullet holes, others are partially decayed, and absolutely none of them resemble the perfectly clean and symmetrical skull that Halloween aisles proudly display. As easy as it is to get caught up in the morbid fascination of it all, these were once real people just like you and me.

The skeleton of conjoined twins. Source. 

While it’s easy to dismiss the Mütter’s collection as morbid, it served an important purpose: to improve medical education. The museum is now run by the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, who use the acquisitions for research purposes. Carol Orzel passed away in 2018 from Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva, a rare disease that causes tissue to turn to bone. She donated her skeleton for the purpose of bringing public awareness to the disease and in hopes of researchers eventually developing a cure. Carol is displayed next to Harry Eastlack, who also had FOP and requested his body be used for research purposes. Harry’s case is still the most well-known when it comes to FOP and his body is still referred to in research. It was because of his skeleton that scientists were able to determine which gene is responsible for FOP, leading to ongoing trials for potential cures.

The skeleton of Harry Eastlack. Source. 

Though not every specimen in the Mütter is used to advance current medical research, it is impossible to deny the importance of this unique and sometimes disturbing collection. It’s easy to dismiss the museum as a cabinet of curiosities, but in reality, the Mütter has led to significant contributions in the medical field. Maybe I’ll keep the skeleton hanging on the door for just a bit longer.

A close-up of one of Hyrtl's skulls. Source 

"WHOSE HISTORY IS IT ANYWAY?"

Museum Innovations | Keelan Cashmore

---

Before there can be innovation in museums, there must be a history. But, whose history? When it comes to studying the past, everyone has a different opinion. What history was beneficial, what was detrimental, what was both, and for whom? These topics are constantly debated throughout high schools and universities alike. But I think the most interesting thing about histories is how one can be silenced in favour of the other.

In April 2018, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice opened in Montgomery, Alabama. ["This memorial"] commemorates 4,400 black people who were slain in lynchings and other racial killings between 1877 and 1950. Their names, where known, are engraved on 800 dark, rectangular steel columns, one for each U.S. county where lynchings occurred.” Source.

An image of the rectangular steel columns commemorating those slain in lynchings. Source.

 A museum entitled The Legacy Museum will also open its doors. One of the main displays are shelves of more than 800 jars of soil from lynching sites across the country. Source.

An image of the jars filled with soil from lynching sites. Source.

So, you might ask, why is this an innovation? Is it not studied? Taught in schools? How are the memorial and museum "innovative"?

The answer is because “There is nothing like it in the country. Which is the point.” Source.

An image of a statue on display at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. Source. 

Because this history is constantly overshadowed. Because brutality, violence, and discrimination still run rampant today. And because, in the light of the controversy surrounding the confederate monuments throughout the United States, The National Memorial for Peace and Justice is facing backlash.

Residents of Montgomery have called it a waste of money and a waste of space, arguing that it’s “bringing up bullshit.” Members of the Alabama Sons of Confederate Veterans have said to bring the history to light, but not to dwell on it, because they have moved past it. Others have stated it's gone, and it will not happen again, and that the reaction of many Montgomery residents was to “let sleeping dogs lie.” Source.

My response to that is no.

One person moving forward does not mean others have. It is easy to let sleeping dogs lie when history paints you as the winner.

There are hundreds of confederate monuments in the United States. But this memorial and museum are the first of their kind. The fact that there is nothing like The National Memorial for Peace and Justice and The Legacy Museum in the country proves why they were created, and why they deserve to exist.

An image of the Alabama Confederate Monument in downtown Montgomery. Source.

If you are causing an uproar over the removal of confederate monuments because they are a piece of your history, what right do you have to promote the same actions being taken against others? Why do you think displaying your history is right, but someone else’s is wrong?

I am the first to admit that I do not know everything about this history. In fact, the only thing I know for certain is that I do not know much. But what I do know is that these reactions are the reason museums and monuments like the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and The Legacy Museum need to be open to the public.

It is 2018. History is not a single all-encompassing story. History has twists and turns. History can be good, but history can be bad. Something that you regard as positive may very well have disastrous consequences for others.

History is not a singular entity, but tens, hundreds, even thousands of different versions of the same event. One side’s opinion is no more factual than another. And it is our responsibility to share more than what we have been told is “right”. What we have been told is “fact”.

An image of the lynching death of Henry Smith, Paris, Texas, 1893. Smith, accused of murdering the young daughter of a policeman, was mutilated and burned alive before a crowd of 10, 000. Source.

It is time to let voices be heard and history be shown.
It is time to stop running and face the past.
It is time for us to learn.
To accept other realities.
To grow.
To change.

It is time.