Physiognomy is a Psudo-science that was “studied” by 19th and Early 20th century actors and makeup artists to improve their study of faces.  Unfortunately, the mid 19th & early 20th Century books on this fake “science” in these eras existed primarily to promote racist, sexist, and xenophobic views which trickled into the designs of stage makeup.  Racists worldwide continue to cite this nonsense to “prove” superiority to groups and individuals they hate. This book is a particularly egregious example of this sort of thing, and was massively popular in late 19th Century America, so popular you can still easily find copies of it for sale on eBay for under 10 dollars.