http://www.switched.com/2010/01/25/lost-photo-of-medical-marvel-phineas-gage-found-on-flickr/ Switched Comments for Lost Photo of Medical Marvel Phineas Gage Found on Flickr http://www.switched.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.switched.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.switched.com/2010/01/25/lost-photo-of-medical-marvel-phineas-gage-found-on-flickr/http://www.switched.com/2010/01/25/lost-photo-of-medical-marvel-phineas-gage-found-on-flickr/Jan 25th 2010 5:27PMhttp://www.switched.com/2010/01/25/lost-photo-of-medical-marvel-phineas-gage-found-on-flickr/http://www.switched.com/2010/01/25/lost-photo-of-medical-marvel-phineas-gage-found-on-flickr/Jan 25th 2010 11:05PMhttp://www.switched.com/2010/01/25/lost-photo-of-medical-marvel-phineas-gage-found-on-flickr/http://www.switched.com/2010/01/25/lost-photo-of-medical-marvel-phineas-gage-found-on-flickr/
In 1989, while researching for a pitch to make a documentary about Gage, I conducted an exhaustive Rights and Clearances search for any images of him.

The only representations of the man were drawings, and only one was supposedly contemporary with his time. We now know it wasn't even remotely a likeness. More like a schematic of the injury, evidently not based on life. The drawing most people remember, created for Ripley's, was also not based on life or any other image and unfortunately depicted him as having the bar still in his head, as if he walked around that way.

As for the possibility of the image knocking around the Internet before it was posted to Flickr, that's also highly doubtful. The only copy of this particular daguerreotype was, and is, still in the possession of the owners, who acquired it in 1968, I believe.

All that said, since Gage spent some time as something of a showman, I'm confident other images will be identified and appear eventually. Because now we know what he looked like, and what to look for. But those images, being precious as historical and delicate items, probably heirlooms, may still be in a drawer someplace, waiting to be found. Daguerreotypes weren't cheap, so there would be no more than a handful, though.

And really, two of the best historical and scientific sleuths in the business have been stalking Gage for decades. I feel they'd have found images if they'd been out there.
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