Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death

The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death is a series of eighteen intricately designed dollhouse-style dioramas created by Frances Glessner Lee, a millionaire heiress with an interest in forensic science.

The dioramas are detailed representations of death scenes that are composites of actual court cases, created by Glessner Lee on a 1 inch to 1 foot (1 : 12) scale.^[1][2][3][4] She attended autopsies to ensure accuracy,^[1] and her attention to detail extended to having a wall calendar include the pages after the month of the incident, constructing openable windows, and wearing out-of-date clothing to obtain realistically worn fabric.^[2] She called them the Nutshell Studies because the purpose of a forensic investigation is said to be to "convict the guilty, clear the innocent, and find the truth in a nutshell."^[3] Students were instructed to study the scene methodically—she suggested moving the eyes in a clockwise spiral—and draw conclusions from the visual evidence.^[2][3] At conferences hosted by Glessner Lee, prominent crime-scene investigators were given 90 minutes to study each diorama.^[3]

The dioramas show tawdry and in many cases disheveled living spaces very different from Glessner Lee's own background. The dead include prostitutes and victims of domestic violence.^[2][3]

Glessner Lee used her inheritance to set up Harvard's department of legal medicine, and donated the Nutshell dioramas in 1945 for use in lectures on the subject of crime scene investigation. In 1966 the department was dissolved, and the dioramas went to the Maryland Medical Examiner’s Office in Baltimore, where they are on permanent loan and still used for forensic seminars.^[2][4]

In popular culture

• The dioramas inspired CSI writers in their creation of the Miniature Killer, a serial murderer who leaves miniature dollhouses behind at crime scenes.^[1]
• Susan Marks' documentary film Of Dolls and Murder looks at how the dioramas are still used as training material by the Baltimore Police Department.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Rachel Monroe, "The Art of Murder," Baltimore City Paper, May 5, 2010.
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Laura J. Miller, "Frances Glessner Lee: Brief life of a forensic miniaturist: 1878–1962,", Harvard Magazine September-October 2005.
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} "The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death," American Medical News, August 17, 1992, at Bruce Goldfarb.com
4. ^ ^{a b} Lisa Respers, "Helping to Crack Cases: 'Nutshells': Miniature replicas of crime scenes from the 1930s and 1940s are used in forensics training," The Baltimore Sun February 24, 1999.

Further reading

• Corinne May Botz. The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death. New York: Monacelli, 2004. ISBN 9781580931458

External links

• Frances Glessner Lee (1878–1962), Biographies, Visible Proofs: Forensic Views of the Body, National Library of Medicine, 16 February 2006, updated 10 July 2006.
• Of Dolls and Murder website