18 Tiny Deaths
3 journalers for this copy...
I got this softcover at Toadstool Books in Nashua. It's a biography of Frances Glessner Lee, whose incredibly-detailed miniature crime scenes were a hallmark of early forensic science. (The book Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death includes closeup photos and descriptions of many of the scenes, definitely worth a look!)
Turns out Lee is something of a local girl in a way, though from Chicago - her family's summer home in the White Mountains of NH, The Rocks, is still there, though now a public historic site with hiking trails and such. Will have to make a trip up there one of these days! Anyway, I hadn't realized how wealthy her family was, but it turns out that was key to her success in pushing for improved forensic education; she was able to leverage Harvard itself by throwing money at the problem {wry grin}. Useful in a time when women weren't welcome on medical boards or in police departments... Anyway, she had an interesting life, and a friendship with one of her brother's pals, a man named George Magrath, who became medical examiner in Boston for 30 years (his tenure including some dramatic incidents, from the tragic Molasses Flood to the devastating Cocoanut Grove fire). That friendship piqued her interest in things medico-legal, from human anatomy to crime-scene evidence. She had a talent for creating detailed miniature scenes, used in her youth to make a lifelike representation of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (!), and when brainstorming for ways to help teach police officers how to properly handle and investigate crime scenes she got the idea to make 3D miniature scenes so detailed that people could deduce the facts of the case through careful observation.
From the sound of things, Lee wasn't always that easy to get along with, and sometimes did throw her weight around, but she was instrumental in encouraging a movement towards more rigorous forensic education - and those miniatures are still awesome! An exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum includes on-line images and a VR option - click here to see more.
Turns out Lee is something of a local girl in a way, though from Chicago - her family's summer home in the White Mountains of NH, The Rocks, is still there, though now a public historic site with hiking trails and such. Will have to make a trip up there one of these days! Anyway, I hadn't realized how wealthy her family was, but it turns out that was key to her success in pushing for improved forensic education; she was able to leverage Harvard itself by throwing money at the problem {wry grin}. Useful in a time when women weren't welcome on medical boards or in police departments... Anyway, she had an interesting life, and a friendship with one of her brother's pals, a man named George Magrath, who became medical examiner in Boston for 30 years (his tenure including some dramatic incidents, from the tragic Molasses Flood to the devastating Cocoanut Grove fire). That friendship piqued her interest in things medico-legal, from human anatomy to crime-scene evidence. She had a talent for creating detailed miniature scenes, used in her youth to make a lifelike representation of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (!), and when brainstorming for ways to help teach police officers how to properly handle and investigate crime scenes she got the idea to make 3D miniature scenes so detailed that people could deduce the facts of the case through careful observation.
From the sound of things, Lee wasn't always that easy to get along with, and sometimes did throw her weight around, but she was instrumental in encouraging a movement towards more rigorous forensic education - and those miniatures are still awesome! An exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum includes on-line images and a VR option - click here to see more.
I'm adding this to the Crime Scene/Mystery bookbox (bookbox journal with list of choices and replacements here); the box will be on its way to its next stop soon.
*** Released for the 2021 Tick Tock challenge. ***
*** Released for the 2021 Spook-tacular challenge. ***
*** Released for the 2021 Tick Tock challenge. ***
*** Released for the 2021 Spook-tacular challenge. ***
From the Crime Scene book box. I'll be passing this on.
I have a friend who might be interested in this.
I have a friend who might be interested in this.
The book definitely held my interest to the end. And it is a worthy effort, in documenting the never-before-told story of an interesting person who has never before been biographied. However, it does have its flaws.
One flaw is the cover blurb that calls Frances Glessner Lee "The Woman Who Invented Modern Forensics." False statement! Our heroine did play a major (and much-needed) role in promoting, supporting and educating in the use of forensic medicine and other forensic science in crime investigation. But she was not an innovator in the field. None of the techniques were invented by her. The true innovator was her friend Dr. George Magrath, pioneering medical examiner of Boston. He deserves a biography — but he doesn't even have a wikipedia article!
A minor but annoying flaw is that the publisher's editors have consistently used (or allowed) the use of possessive singulars where plurals are clearly meant. Phrases like "her parent's home" instead of "her parents' home" abound, and I didn't see a single case of correct usage. Another minor but annoying flaw: Our heroine's mother, and one of her daughters, were also named Frances — and there are several places where at least two of these characters are confusingly mentioned in the same paragraph by first name only!
But despite these minor flaws, it was worth reading and I'm glad I read it. I'll have my eyes open for anything about Dr. Magrath that should appear in the future!
One flaw is the cover blurb that calls Frances Glessner Lee "The Woman Who Invented Modern Forensics." False statement! Our heroine did play a major (and much-needed) role in promoting, supporting and educating in the use of forensic medicine and other forensic science in crime investigation. But she was not an innovator in the field. None of the techniques were invented by her. The true innovator was her friend Dr. George Magrath, pioneering medical examiner of Boston. He deserves a biography — but he doesn't even have a wikipedia article!
A minor but annoying flaw is that the publisher's editors have consistently used (or allowed) the use of possessive singulars where plurals are clearly meant. Phrases like "her parent's home" instead of "her parents' home" abound, and I didn't see a single case of correct usage. Another minor but annoying flaw: Our heroine's mother, and one of her daughters, were also named Frances — and there are several places where at least two of these characters are confusingly mentioned in the same paragraph by first name only!
But despite these minor flaws, it was worth reading and I'm glad I read it. I'll have my eyes open for anything about Dr. Magrath that should appear in the future!
Released at Little Free Library 94593
2600 block of Grand Ave. in Everett
2600 block of Grand Ave. in Everett
