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| Frances Glessner Lee working on one of her Nutshell Studies |
This blog is called Killer Crafts & Crafty
Killers, and no one personifies that category more than Frances Glessner Lee, a
Chicago heiress born in 1878. Frances wasn’t your typical cloistered society
matron, though. She had a rather unique hobby for a woman of her time. Rather
than devoting herself to the typical domestic life of well-to-do wives of her
day, Frances preferred to dabble in murder investigations. After being
introduced to forensic science by future medical examiner and Harvard professor
of pathology George Magrath, she set about creating a tool to help train
homicide investigators.
Glessner Lee enjoyed hosting dinner parties, not for
the elite of society, but for law enforcement investigators, encouraging them
to discuss the details, no matter how gory, of their cases. She learned that
crime scenes, when observed correctly, held many clues to the solving of
crimes. However, crime scenes have a limited lifespan, and evidence can be lost
or corrupted.
So Glessner Lee created “The Nutshell Studies of
Unexplained Death” to help investigators learn how to apply deductive reasoning
to assess the elements of a crime scene. She did this by recreating objective
recreations of actual crime scenes in miniature, crafting detailed dioramas
based on police reports and court records, complete down to the smallest
detail, including the dead body. Her miniature models taught investigators how
to analyze a crime scene objectively.
Glessner Lee’s Nutshell Studies now reside in the
Maryland Medical Examiner’s Office. They are not only on view to the public but
are still used to teach forensic investigation.
Does this miniature depict a crime scene? Note the
titles and name of the author of the books. Is that mystery author Lois Winston pictured
in the photo frame? But wait! There’s a gun on the rug. And is that an uneaten
dish of caviar? There’s a tale to be told here…is it a tale of murder?
18 comments:
Awesome post about an equally awesome woman! Thanks for sharing!!!
Thanks so much for stopping by, Angela!
Thank you for this interesting post. I'd read about her a couple of years ago, but had forgotten about her.
With your permission I'd like to share this on my FB author page.
Brad
Author: A Knife in the Fog
There's at least one book (with marvelous pictures) of these miniatures: The nutshell studies of unexplained death by Corinne May Botz.
Sandra
How nice to be visiting you again, Anastasia!
"The Nutshell Studies . . . " is prominent on my bookshelf, an amazing record of Lee's work. For this mini crime scene, with the incriminating photo of author Lois Winston, Lee would have woven the rug, grown the tiny flower, blown the glass, and so on!
Absolutely, Brad. Feel free to share wherever you'd like.
Thanks for mentioning the book, Sandra. I'll have to check it out.
Always a pleasure to have you stop by, Camille! I guess back when Lee was creating her miniatures, she couldn't just run over to her local craft shop to pick up miniature items to use.
I have been reading Camille Minichino's books for years. I love the different crafts she employs in her books. Also, Lois Winston does the same thing. A well-written craft book is simply a joy to read, especially when they are as well written as these authors' books.
Thank you, Heather! What a nice thing to say!
Very interesting. I'm going to forward this to my misterio press cohort, K.B. Owens, who writes historical mysteries set in this time period.
Thanks for stopping by, Vinnie! Glad you enjoyed the post.
Thank you!
Brad
I've visited these intriguing displays at the Maryland Medical Examiner's office in Baltimore. They are well worth a trip to see, along with other training tools and a state-of-the-art autopsy facility.
I think they were removed recently and put on display in DC, where they will be renovated & then returned to Baltimore.
A fascinating project!
Thanks, KM. I may have to plan a road trip to see them. Baltimore and DC aren't too far from NJ.
Love this! It's a great story! Her exhibits occasionally travel, so those outside the Maryland area can also view. I'm looking forward to seeing her work at the Northbrook Public Library in October for a Sisters in Crime Chicagoland meeting.
Very interesting, Lois. I had not heard of her before, but I will remember her now.
Thanks for stopping by, Jen and Earl. I'm so glad you both loved the post.
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