Observing the original 1884 Whitechapel photograph of John Merrick, I noticed that there seemed in it to be two images instead of just one. One image is the obvious countenance of John Merrick as he was in life--deformed by tumors as he was. The other image, not quite as clearly seen, was that of what John might have looked like had he not been afflicted by these tumors.

With this thought in mind, I began to manipulate the image using paintshop pro so that I might reveal what was hidden. I added nothing to the photograph that wasn’t already there. The facial features constructed in the photograph on the right all originate in the photograph on the left with some guidance by my knowledge of the human anatomy.

The result is an image of John as he might have been. I discovered, working on the image, that hidden in the photograph on the left, John might have been wearing a warm and affable smile when the photograph was taken--a smile that was hidden by his deformity.

Tis true my form is something odd,
But blaming me is blaming God;
Could I create myself anew
I would not fail in pleasing you.
If I could reach from pole to pole
Or grasp the ocean with a span,
I would be measured by the soul;
The mind's the standard of the man.

A Poem often quoted by John