In this article I describe how I estimated the height of Bernard Coyne — once the tallest man in the world — from a photograph with the use of 3D software. The location of the photo was revisited, measured and photographed. The photos were then computed into a 3D model scaled to exact real world dimensions. A virtual camera whose parameters matches the one that originally took the photo was created. Coyne’s height was then estimated by drawing a straight line from his feet to the top of his head. My estimate shows that Coyne is standing at a height of 7’11.5” (242,6 cm) in his thick heeled shoes and 7’9.3” (237,0 cm) barefoot in the photograph.

Background and aim

Fig 1. Bernard Coyne has just registered for the draft. Picture shot August 24, 1918.From left: E.D Van meter, Bernard Coyne, Sylvester Coyne (Bernards father), Sam Wymer. Click on image to view larger.

Bernard Coyne (1897-1921), Anthon, Iowa, (Fig 1.) is  listed by the Guiness Book Of World Records (GBWR) as 8’2” tall, making him one of the very few known individuals who reached a height of  8’ (243,8 cm) or above. There are no medically confirmed measurements of Coyne but some sources claim that he measured 8’4” (254 cm) at the time of his death at age 23 when he was still growing. According to his draft card ¹ he stood 8’ (243,8 cm) tall at the time of his registration for the army in 1918 but according to the GBWR, he was 7’9” (236,2 cm) during the registration (“Pictures portray giant,” 1995). Dr. Charles D. Humberd mentions Coyne at the very end of his paper on the famous giant Robert Wadlow “Giantism – Report of a case” and gives him the height of 7’8” (233,7 cm) as the reason for not being accepted by the army (Humberd, 1937). According to contemporary newspaper reporting on the draft registration he stood 8’1” (246,3 cm) tall (“Youth 8 feet 1 inch,” 1918). With the background of this controversy regarding his height my aim with this article is to estimate the height of Bernard Coyne in a photograph, taken during his draft registration on August 24, 1918².

Method

In this section I will provide a chronological order of the workflow I used for this project. The core idea was to create a 3D model of the surroundings in a photograph and thus letting us “step into the photograph” and measure objects within it.

Identifying the photo location

Fig 2. Polk County Courthouse, Des Moines, built in 1906 in beaux arts style. Click on image to view larger.

The application of the method I am about to describe is restricted to photographs that meets the following criteria: the photograph’s location must be identified and remain in an unaltered state since the time of the photograph. The first step was therefore to identify the exact location in Des Moines where the photograph was shot. Coynes draft card does not reveal this information and neither does the caption of the photograph. However, on draft cards from other Iowan registrants the location is specified as The Polk County Courthouse (Fig 2.).

Fig 3. The Hotel Irwin at 6th Cherry Street. Postcard, 1920’s. Click on image to view larger.

The courthouse was examined using Google Maps Street View in order to determine the exact location of the photograph. It turned out that the photo was shot at one of the courthouses entrances. Since three of the four entrances (pointing towards north, south and west) looks practically identical, the identification of the building in the photo background as the (now demolished) Hotel Irwin was crucial to pinpoint the south entrance as the one visible in the photo (Fig 4).

Fig 4. A= Hotel Irwin facing south. B=Hotel Irwin facing east. C=Polk County Courthouse facing south.

Fig 5. The south entrance of Polk County Courthouse, Des moines in 2016. Authors photograph. Click on image to view larger.

Making the 3D model

In june 2016 I traveled to Des Moines in order to photograph the Polk County Courthouse³. Using a Samsung NX3300 digital camera I shot approx. 200 photos covering the required parts of the south entrance. I decided to let a 2 meter (6’7”) measurestick lay on the floor during the entire photoshoot for scaling reference. For this purpose I also took measurements of some parts of the building. The photos where then computed into a 3D-model (Fig 6-8) using Agisoft Photoscan Standard (version 1.4.2 6205).

Fig 6. Final 3D model of  parts of the Polk County Courthouse’s south entrance, frontview. Click on image to view larger.

Fig 7. Final 3D model of parts of the Polk County Courthouse’s south entrance, left-view. Click on image to view larger.

Fig 8. Final 3D model of the Polk County Courthouse’s south entrance, right-view. Notice the 2 m measurestick laying on the ground. Click on image to view larger.

Fig 9. The measurements of the 3D-model was compared with real life measurements of the corresponding parts. Here is one of the measurements pictured. Click on image to view larger.

The building was then scaled to real world size with minute detail using the 3D application Blender (version 2.79b). The scaling process wasn’t completed until the measurements of the 3D-model corresponded with the real-life measurements with an accuracy of <1 mm (0,04”)⁴.

Fig 10. Scaled model shown in orthographic projection (front view). The black and light-blue lines represents feets and yards. Click on image to view larger.

Matching the 3D-model with the photo

Fig 11. Gif animation showing the 3D-model viewed through the virtual camera that was set up to match the camera that took the original photo. Click on image to view larger.

In order to measure objects in the photo that’s not part of the 3D scene (in this particular case the people in the photo including Bernard Coyne) I needed to set up a virtual camera whose location, orientation and field of view matched the camera that originally took the photo. This was done using the 3D application 3Ds Max® 2019 (Autodesk, 2018) and the Camera match utility. By placing markers on easily detectable parts of the 3D mesh (such as corners), and then specify their corresponding pixel coordinates as they appear in the photo, a virtual camera was created ⁵.

Estimating the heights of the persons in the photo

Using the Ruler and proctactor tool in Blender (version 2.79b) the heights of the persons visible in the photo was measured as a horizontal line taken from the ground, where the midpoint of the two shoeheels are located, up to the top of the head (hair not included). Since Coyne is wearing a hat in the photo his head position was estimated using two photos of him without a hat.

Fig 12. The estimated heights (in shoes) for the four men in the photograph. From left: E.D Van Meter, 5’9.3” (176,0 cm), Bernard Coyne, 7’11.5” (242,6 cm), Sylvester Coyne (Bernards father), 5’8.8” (174,7 cm), Sam Wymer, 5’6.6” (169,1 cm). Click on image to view larger.

Note that all the heights listed in the photo above (fig.12) is their respective heights with shoes on. The heel of Coynes shoes is seen rather clearly in the photograph and when measuring the heel, using the ruler and protractor tool, it turns out to be 2.179” (5,5 cm). Extracting this figure from the total height of 7’11.5” (242,6 cm) we arrive at a height of 7’9.3” (237, 0 cm) barefeet.

Fig 13. The shoeheel measures 2.179” (5,5 cm). Click to view larger.

Conclusion

The height estimation is assuming a correct posture where the head is positioned right above the middle point of the feet. However, Coyne is not standing perfectly straight, leaning somewhat to his left as he supports himself against the wall. To what degree this could affect his height is something I leave for future analysis, but I suspect that it wouldnt affect it so much at all. Also, I find it important to point out that the result of this study is an estimation of Coyne’s height in this specific photo. In other words: his height at the very second the photo was shot. He might perhaps be in a slouched position, not stretching his neck to its fullest extent and thus being able to stand a little taller if he tried. The result of this study indicates that Coyne was standing at least 7’9.3” (237,0 cm) in his stocking feet at the time of his draft registration in 1918.

Notes

^{1 Eventhough the draft card is an official document it still counts as an unverified source since there are no documentation on him being measured by the staff at the draft board. The user GROSMONT makes the following point in a post on the forum attached to the website TheTallestMan.com  “…I bet the Draft Registrar didn’t measure him. More likely he just asked “How tall are you?” and took his word for it. Taking a measurement would be a waste of time, as the guy obviously wouldn’t be drafted…” (GROSMONT, 2011).
2 The alert reader might notice that this was 100 years prior to the publication date for this article (to the day). The draft registration was held that specific day for every man that had turn 21 since june 5 1918 (World War I Registration Cards, 2016) and Coyne turned 21 on July 27 
3 Permission was given via e-mail by director of Polk County General Services.
4 The measurestick being used to measure the building had 1 mm as its smallest unit.
5 The accuracy of the camera match is displayed as a current camera error value. A good error range lies between the values 0.0 – 1.5 (Knowledge.autodesk.com, 2018). The camera error value for this match was 0.85.}

References

3Ds Max 2019 [Computer software]. (2018).

Agisoft Photoscan [Computer software]. (2018).

Anthon Herald, “Pictures portray giant”, March 1, 1995.

Blender [Computer software]. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.blender.org/

[GROSMONT] (2011, June 25). “some Bernard Coyne documents” [p.1] Message posted to  http://www.thetallestman.com/whoisthetallest/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=664&p=11721&hilit=some+bernard+coyne#p11696

Humberd, Charles.D. (1937). Giantism – Report of a case. JAMA, 108(7), pp. 546.

Knowledge.autodesk.com. (2018). Camera Match Utility | 3ds Max | Autodesk Knowledge Network. [online] Available at: https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/3ds-max/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2018/ENU/3DSMax-Archive/files/GUID-2C52CD7A-8FBF-4135-B677-2B49D21BC868-htm.html [Accessed 24 Aug. 2018].

Lafayette County Leader, “Youth 8 feet 1 inch ready to go to war,” October 31, 1918.

World War I Registration Cards. (2016). Retrieved from  https://www.archives.gov/research/military/ww1/draft-registration