1. Introduction

Definition of Pelmanism

Pelmanism is the system of scientifically training the mind invented by William Joseph Ennever.  He is described in the "New Century Cyclopaedia of Names" Vol 2. as the "English journalist who originated the mnemonic training system known as Pelmanism."  Click here for more details of his life and career.

"Whilst many thousands have perceived the gigantic flaws in our intellectual fabric, one man began long ago to re-design the building", said Sir Max Pemberton in his introduction to the advertising booklet "The Efficient Mind".  He was referring to W. J. Ennever who, with others working with him, set out to develop the system.  His idea was to develop both the intellect and character of the individual. 

2. What is Pelmanism? From an advertisement in "The Pools of Silence" by H de Vere Stacpoole published in 1919. Pelmanism was advertised as a system of scientific mental training which strengthened and developed your mind just as physical training strengthened your body.  It was developed to expand "Mental Powers in every direction" and "remove those tendencies to indolence and inefficiency".

Amongst the defects and weaknesses claimed to be "rapidly and permanently banished by Pelmanism" were:

And besides banishing these failings, Pelmanism "makes and keeps your brain keen, fresh, vigilant and self-reliant, and develops such valuable positive qualities" as:

Or, as the advertising booklets "The Efficient Mind" (left) and "The Science of Success" (right) put it:

3. What Pelmanism Teaches

• The ability to learn and remember
• The ability to apply the knowledge thus gained
• The ability to reflect, to perceive, to compare, to judge and to decide
• The elimination of harmful habits
• The cure of mental weakness
• The development of latent powers
• The exercise of will-power
• The formation and development of character
• The full development and intelligent direction of your personality

In a sentence, it was claimed that the Pelman Course gives you "a balanced, practical, highly trained and efficient mind".

4. The Pelman Course

The course appears to have become popular in the early 1900s, continuing through the First World War and remained so until the Second World War.   Willam Joseph was declared bankrupt in 1940 and died in 1947 and the course remained in use long after his death. The Times carried an advert for "Super-Pelmanism" on 22nd October 1943, a version of the course it is thought he personally developed to try to regain some of his former glory and wealth.  This was followed by other adverts in The Times in 1945 and the evolution of his training course into his book "Your Mind and How to Use it" published shortly before the Second World War. 

More about William Joseph's life story can be found here.  It is claimed that the course was adopted by more than 500,000 people and another 100,000 of His Majesty's Forces enrolled for a course, specially designed for them, during World War II. In 1918 The Daily News dedicated three columns of its September 28th edition to reviewing Pelmanism.  It is hard to believe that this was an independent review, although it claims to be such, as it reaches the following glowing conclusions:

The Times 20/2/1920 The "Little Grey Books", which together with the Exercises and Examination Papers constituted the Pelman Course.  The course underwent continual improvement and can be found in twelve or fifteen lesson versions as well as the simplified "Super-Pelmanism" version referred to above (no example of this course has yet been found, however).  The style of the booklets suggests that the fifteen lesson version is a later course.  The twelve lesson version was the course in use just after the 1st World War, the height of Pelmanism's success.  See right for T. Sharper Knowlson's summary of the course as published in The Times in February 1920. The Course was given entirely by correspondence so that there were no classes or lectures to attend. You could "follow it in your own time and at the most convenient moments".

The fifteen lessons were as follows:

The Soul of Pelmanism	Driving out the inferiority complex	Your purpose in life: How to achieve it	The will to conquer	Concentration and mental control
The Science & Art of Self-realization	The Money Brain: an enquiry into its qualities	The world of people and things to know about them	Self-expression and personality	Good judgement in business & affairs
The scientific method: or how to handle your facts	Your subconscious life	Creating new ideas: Studies in imagination and originality	The use and abuse of reading: How to organize your mental life	Pelmanism in action

Pelman Institute Certificate (1954)

...and also came as a boxed set and the twelve lesson version has also been found as a bound hard cover book in a larger 200x110mm size (see images at top). 

Each booklet came with its own worksheet which the student completed and returned to the Institute.  It was then "marked", a process involving an examiner making comments and suggestions, and then returned to the student.  On satisfactory completion of the course students were awarded a certificate of "Membership of the Pelman Institute"

Worksheet 8 contained a puzzle that will be recognised today as one that appears regularly in logical and creative thinking questions (see below) and which appears to be first recorded in Sam Loyd's, Cyclopedia of Puzzles. (The Lamb Publishing Company, 1914).  I would be very interested to know if anyone has a Pelman Institute worksheet dated before 1914 to see if the puzzle pre-dates Loyd's book or, as seems more likely, the Institute modified the puzzle for its own use.

From Worksheet 8 (1932)

Sam Loyd's puzzle (c1914)

5. Pelman Language Institute courses

Although they are not seen advertised in anything like the frequency of the mind training courses the Pelman Languages Institute also offered language courses in French, German, Spanish, Italian and also Afrikaans and Urdu and possibly Hindustani.  In the booklet "Science of Success" printed in India from the early to mid-1940s it claims that these courses had been in use for over 20 years although there is little evidence of them from this early date.  This later venture probably commenced after William Joseph Ennever had left the Pelman Institute.

The last known advertisements for Pelman courses appeared in "The Times" and "Geographical" magazine in 1967 when the Institute's address was Tudor House, Carter Lane, London EC4 with overseas offices advertised as being in Delhi, Durban & Paris.

6. The Pelman Institute

A number of advertising leaflets have been found that give us some idea of the grandeur of the Pelman Institute building as it was in the mid-1920s.  Other images can be found here.

A sample of Pelman Institute letterheads from 1932 and from the Indian office in 1943. By the 1950s, after the death of W J Ennever, the Institute is located at 28-30 Wigmore Street, London W. 1.

7. Today

It seems that the system still has its followers today, as can be seen from the following web sites:

There are also countless sites about "Pelmanism", the memory card game, which is believed to have its origins in the Pelman course although this is disputed.  There is some evidence for this possibility in that John Waddington Ltd, the famous playing card manufacturers, sold a card game based on the Pelmanism mind training course which was designed to find the emotional age of the player or players.

If anyone has any further information on Pelmanism, The Pelman Institute or the life and career of William Joseph Ennever I would be delighted to hear from you.

Sources:

• Various Pelman Institute publications and documents