IL SEGNALAMENTO DEL DELINQUENTE BY SALVATORE OTTOLENGHI: THE STUDY OF DERMATOGLYPHICS IN ANTHROPOMETRIC CABINETS

Abstract

The dermatoglyphics are signs of the human variety, as they are absolutely different from one human being to another. For this reason, and for their characteristics of uniqueness, classification, and inalterability, the papillary ridges on the fingertips represent elements of a sure differentiation between one person and another. Fingerprints are, therefore, very helpful in identifying a human being. Salvatore Ottolenghi was the first to utilize the fingerprinting system to identify individuals, and he introduced this system in his “Cartellino di riconoscimento (identification card)” in 1902. He was sure about the scientific validity of this method, which he considered to be free from potential personal interpretation. According to hi definition, “fingerprints, by their nature, form special drawings from birth; these will not change throughout life and will be absolutely different from one human being to another”. This fingerprint identification method was immediately refined by Giovanni Gasti, whom Salvatore Ottolenghi had chosen as his personal assistant at the Scuola di Polizia Scientifica (School of Forensic Science). Gasti, adapting the classification method of Francis Galton and Edward Henry, developed the “Sistema Gasti (Gasti System)”, which was in use throughout the 1900s.