ABSTRACT
Infection resulted from contact with Combean reading matter. Although The constitution of man was one of the bestselling books of the age, it alone could not accomplish such dissemination. Only the continued production of new writings tainted with Combean naturalism could continue such a trend ever further. Combe's zealous adherence to phrenology was always a mar on his reputation in some circles, even when he wrote about other subjects such as education or the currency question in the 1850s. Naturalisms were, as Adrian Desmond argued, the rallying cries of new, often professional, authorities seeking to justify their increasing status and to differentiate themselves from older authorities. The new age of print meant not only more books, but more ephemeral reading matter such as newspapers and periodicals. The phrase 'the constitution of man' was seldom used as a title in English before Combe's Constitution.
