Masks for Mutilated Men in WW I

August 14, 2018 2:51 PM

Anna Coleman Ladd, a sculptor, made lifelike masks for soldiers of WW I. World War I caused the death of millions of combatants and civilians, while countless soldiers suffered from injury and disfigurement. Perhaps the most disheartening were facial injuries, as soldiers had to not only deal with the physical loss, but also the constant psychological stress of wondering how people would react to their changed appearance.
posted by MovableBookLady (16 comments total)

I have heard that there were so many disfiguring injuries because helmets would deflect shell fragments and they'd destroy the face, instead of killing the soldier.
posted by thelonius at 3:09 PM on August 14, 2018 [1 favorite]

The practical, social and emotional dimensions of being in this situation was a plot line for Boardwalk Empire character (and fan favorite) Richard Harrow, pictured (TW: disturbing rendition of horrific facial injury) here putting on his mask. The actor, Jack Huston, did a great job showing the character's feelings about the mask, e.g., sometimes showing a contradicting emotion or interior life, which was kind, and sometimes mimicking the mask when needed to project his hit man persona.
posted by carmicha at 3:09 PM on August 14, 2018 [14 favorites]

I find this completely fascinating. I had no idea that skin grafting was even a thing in the aftermath of WW1 (we'd come so far since the American Civil War!). Searching further, I also found this, in case anyone would like a little more info. Great post!
posted by annieb at 3:23 PM on August 14, 2018

The plight of World War I soldiers with terrible facial disfigurements is one of the themes of Pat Barker's very fine novel Toby's Room.
posted by ALeaflikeStructure at 3:53 PM on August 14, 2018 [3 favorites]

Things weren't necessarily that much different in WW2 either -- here's a photo of Agnes Roberge making prosthetic face masks from life moulds in Toronto in 1944.
posted by Rumple at 3:59 PM on August 14, 2018 [2 favorites]

Flagged as fantastic, and thanks to carmicha for reminding me of the Boardwalk Empire connection.
posted by 4ster at 4:32 PM on August 14, 2018

This lengthier Smithsonian article credits Ladd's studio with close to 200 masks, notes that "even within Ladd’s one-year tenure it was clear that a mask had a life of only a few years," and features a surprise cameo by Kathleen Scott ("noted sculptress and the widow of Capt. Robert Falcon Scott of Antarctica fame"). Ladd's husband Maynard, a Boston pediatrician, was with the American Red Cross in France during WWI.

The Anna Coleman Ladd Papers (circa 1881-1950), at the Smithsonian Institution's Archives of American Art, has digitized records of her A.R.C. portrait-mask work.
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:04 PM on August 14, 2018 [5 favorites]

Interesting. My maternal grandparents were Ladds (my middle name is Ladd) and would have been living in nearby Groveland, MA around this time. Probably a relative!
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 5:49 PM on August 14, 2018 [1 favorite]

thelonius: I have heard that there were so many disfiguring injuries because helmets would deflect shell fragments and they'd destroy the face, instead of killing the soldier.

If I recall from the Mefi thread on this topic not that long ago (translation: probably a good ten years IIRC), it was mostly attributed to the nature of trench warfare. Sticking your head over the top made for a perfect line-of-sight for a bullet to the face.
posted by dr_dank at 6:36 PM on August 14, 2018

The always fascinating U.S. National Library of Medicine youtube channel footage of Anna Coleman Ladd in this short silent film from 1918.
posted by 2N2222 at 7:09 PM on August 14, 2018 [3 favorites]

One of the things that I'd read, somewhere, was that each war posed new problems in medicine not just because of new (and usually progressively more horrifying) weapons, but also because soldiers and sailors would survive wounds that would have killed them in previous wars, meaning that those wounds would need to be treated.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:29 PM on August 14, 2018 [5 favorites]

This is fascinating. I note that one of the photos depicts two men: Two soldiers play cards while wearing Ladd’s handiwork.

It occurs me to that having a permanently neutral expression would be a great boon to a poker player.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:30 PM on August 14, 2018 [4 favorites]

The September issue of National Geographic features Katie Stubblefield, the world's youngest full-face-transplant patient. Three years ago the then-18-year-old attempted suicide by shooting herself with a rifle; after many smaller operations, the transplant was done in June.

Since this surgery is still considered experimental, it was not covered by insurance. The costs were underwritten by the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine (AFIRM), as a 21-year-old with such severe ballistic trauma receiving this kind of care is of great interest to the military.

Ideally, Ms. Stubbenfield would also be a good candidate for a full eye transplant, someday: according to researchers at the Pittsburgh Medical Center (where a DoD-funded team hopes to attempt this surgery within the next ten years), it's likely that people who have received face transplants will be the first patients.
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:52 PM on August 14, 2018 [2 favorites]

Dr. Maru (Elena Anaya) wears one of these masks in Wonder Woman.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:35 AM on August 15, 2018 [1 favorite]

Such amazing work.

WWI was, in many ways, such a science fiction war.
posted by doctornemo at 5:57 PM on August 16, 2018

When the war ended... Ladd returned to Boston, where she resumed sculpting portrait busts and art for fountains.
Fountains, eh? I wonder if she made art for water fountains built by the temperance movement.
posted by doctornemo at 5:58 PM on August 16, 2018