HistoryExtra podcast What your hands say about you – according to history
12 snips
Feb 11, 2026 
Alison Bashford, historian of science and author of Decoding the Hand, explores the long history of hand-reading from ancient divination to medical diagnostics. She recounts finds like a gorilla palm print, traces Indian, Chinese and Kabbalistic traditions, and discusses fingerprints, dermatoglyphics, criminal law and how hands shaped ideas about character and health.
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Hands As Diagnostic Tools
- Historical hand-reading focused more on diagnosing character and health than pure future-telling.
- Readers used lines, finger proportions, texture, moisture and gesture as diagnostic data.
Roma Palmists And Longstanding Laws
- Roma fortune-tellers brought palmistry to Britain and faced legal and social hostility for centuries.
- Laws from Henry VIII's Egyptian Acts criminalized palm-reading and persisted into the 19th century vagrancy codes.
Undercover Reports Of West End Palmistry
- Police used undercover agents to infiltrate West End palmistry rooms and document practices in vivid detail.
- Reports recorded curtains, money bowls and disclaimers, creating rich archival evidence of palmistry's social world.
