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On the Skin-Furrows of the Hand (1880) [pdf] (galton.org)
8 points by pncnmnp 1 day ago
2 comments

I want to share why I am posting this paper and why I think this is an interesting read. From "Henry Faulds Proposes Fingerprints as a System of Identification":

https://historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=525

> In a one page letter published in the London journal Nature on October 28, 1880, Henry Faulds was the first to propose the use of fingerprints as a system of identification, including the scientific identification of criminals.

From the paper itself:

> When bloody finger-marks or impressions on clay, glass, etc., exist, they may lead to the scientific identification of criminals. Already I have had experience in two such cases, and found useful evidence from these marks. In one case greasy finger-marks revealed who had been drinking some rectified spirit. The pattern was unique, and fortunately I had previously obtained a copy of it. They agreed with microscopic fidelity. In another case sooty finger-marks of a person climbing a white wall were of great use as negative evidence. .....

Tangentially related, perhaps, but one of my favorite journal articles:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2997957/