Geertjan de Vugt's 'Der Wunsch zu verschwinden' Traces Fingerprint History from Colonialism to Surrealism

In his 2026 publication 'Der Wunsch zu verschwinden,' Geertjan de Vugt delves into the cultural significance of fingerprints through a series of nine essays. The work traces the evolution of fingerprint usage from 19th-century colonial times to today’s technological advancements. Mid-19th century saw British official William James Herschel pioneering fingerprint signatures in Indian colonies. In early 19th-century Prague, Jan Evangelista Purkyně recognized nine fundamental fingerprint patterns. Efforts by racial theorists to classify humans based on fingerprints were thwarted by their variability. The field of criminal identification progressed with Alphonse Bertillon's methods and Francis Galton's demonstration of fingerprint uniqueness. De Vugt also highlights surrealist palmistry, including Charlotte Wolff's 1930s Paris sessions, while addressing modern applications and the genetic disorder adermatoglyphia. Released by Zsolnay-Verlag and translated by Lisa Mensing, the book intertwines medical history, criminology, occultism, and art.