Dudley Allen Sargent's zeal for the study of perfection launched a data collection process at Harvard that extended to every entering freshman for almost half a century. In his effort to find research subjects for "anthropometric measurements," measurements of the human body, he enlisted the help of the Dept. of Physical Education. Incoming Harvard students from the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth century were carefully measured. Parallel data on each student's physical condition was collected in the form of photographs. Students appear in the nude, standing next to a measuring stick. Views were taken from the student's side, front, and back.
From the description of Records of the Dept. of Physical Education : anthropometric measurements of Harvard students, 1860-1920. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 77067611
