De duplicitate monstrosa commentarius

Johann Friedrich Meckel, 1815

To the left is an illustration of a superficial muscle dissection of conjoined twins from De duplicitate monstrosa commentarius by Johann Friedrich Meckel. Meckel was a renowned pathologist and anatomist. In his work, one can see the beginnings of what will be called teratology, the study of abnormalities of physiological development. 

Imperfecta, on display from February 2017 to September 2019 at The Mütter Museum in Philadelphia, introduced the subject of teratology with a look at prodigy books. The early modern concept of monster is explored through these contemporary texts, which illustrate the beliefs behind perceived supernatural and natural causes of physical anomalies. 

Further into Imperfecta, a digital companion exhibit began in 2017 and expanded in 2018, was originally presented using a non-linear format powered by the Scalar, a digital scholarly publishing platform created by The Alliance for Networking Visual Culture at the University of Southern California. This allowed readers to further explore the themes presented by following interrelated "paths." Content from the original Scalar version of this digital exhibit was migrated from a dedicated server to the Digital Image Library in April 2025 in order to retain content on a better supported framework.

The first major section, "Living Curiosities", explores a theme discussed in Imperfecta: the monetization of abnormal bodies, particularly through the freak shows of the 19th century. Other sections include, "Seeing is Believing", which examines the way abnormal development has been visualized, and "What Does It Mean to Be Other?" which examines some of the core concepts of "otherness."

Navigate through each section at the left to explore Further Into Imperfecta.