Forensics: The Anatomy of Crime

Fascinating exhibition at the Wellcome Collection looking at the history of forensic science.

The exhibition was themed by the place where the evidence might be collected or used so there was the crime scene, the morgue, the laboratory, the search and the courtroom.

I loved the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death made by Frances Glessner Lee, small 3D models of crime scenes still used to train police today. Also the plan of the area where Jack the Ripper’s 4th victim was found made by a city architect which included a sketch of the body in situ.

The morgue section was grisly and I found it quite hard to look at the post mortem table but the early pathology books were fascinating. The laboratory sections looked at the development of mug shots and the use of fingerprints.

The courtroom looked at how scientific evidence has been used in court but also looked at press coverage of court cases. The Medical Witness Act of 1836 allowed qualified medical witnesses to testify in court.

All in all fascinating! If you like CSI type programs, the history of crime or crime fiction this is one for you!

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