shadowgraphs

For many years, it turns out, sophomore girls at Oak Park-River Forest were required to pose for such photos, which were developed into silhouette prints called "shadowgraphs," as a means of checking for posture abnormalities.

unknown title BY <a href=mailto:markbrown@suntimes.com>MARK BRO 2009

Vogel said the teacher emphasized the "shadowgraphs" were just one element of the posture class curriculum, and that the teachers took steps to protect the girls 'privacy.

unknown title BY <a href=mailto:markbrown@suntimes.com>MARK BRO 2009

I used to find myself in a spacious salon, its appointments and fashion those of Louis Treize, with ghostly moonlight pouring in at lofty church-like windows and painting distorted shadowgraphs of heraldic devices upon the floor.

The Orchard of Tears Sax Rohmer 1921

He couldn't get me an answer on whether the teachers had any special training to help them analyze the shadowgraphs -- or why it was necessary to pose the girls in the nude.

unknown title BY <a href=mailto:markbrown@suntimes.com>MARK BRO 2009

While the shadowgraphs didn't show faces, they showed enough anatomical detail, particularly in profile, to be embarrassingly personal, said Senn, who found the experience disturbing.

unknown title BY <a href=mailto:markbrown@suntimes.com>MARK BRO 2009

"Remember, we're making shadowgraphs for our neighbors.

The Winds of Chance Rex Ellingwood Beach 1913