Throughout Puddn’head Wilson, fingerprint identification plays a pivotal role in the progression of the plot. Puddn’head offers to take the fingerprints of Tom and Chambers, who are later switched by Chambers’ mom Roxy. This fingerprint identification is the only link to the two boys’ true identities. Since the novel was written in 1894, I was interested to see how long this technology had been out for at the time of the novel’s publishing.
Here is what I found:
Fingerprints weren’t used as a method of identification until the 19th century. Sir William Herschel, a Chief Magistrate in India (which was a British colony at the time), started making residents record their fingerprints when signing documents.
The first major breakthrough on the front of criminal investigation didn’t come until 1892, just two years before Puddn’head Wilson was published. Juan Vucetich, a police officer in Buenos Aires, was called to a crime scene and was able to successfully match the fingerprints at the scene to a suspect involved. This set a framework for investigation methods that are still being used to this day.
While this history was brief, I just found it interesting that Twain was discussing a topic that was incredibly current and rapidly changing.
Great American Novels 2020 
I think it’s cool that you mention this because I didn’t even consider how new the technology would have been while reading “Pudd’nhead Wilson.” I think it is neat that Mark Twain incorporated this into his novel despite it being a very contemporary and new technology during the time he was writing this. Maybe today’s authors are writing about things like virtual reality and stuff like that.
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