Psychometry is a psychic ability or phenomenon that involves touching an object, and its whole history is revealed. This history may include who the owner of the object is or was, what the personality of the owner is or was, what the object was used for, as well as the things that happened to the owner while in possession of the object.
Also known as 'psychoscopy' or 'token object reading,' Psychometry was coined by Joseph R. Buchanan, who was an American professor of Physiology. He was among the very first to experiment with the phenomenon, having conducted a study using his students as subjects in 1842.
The word psychometry comes from the Greek words, 'psyche,' which means 'soul,' and 'metron,' which means 'to measure.'
During the said experiment, Buchanan placed different kinds of drugs inside glass vials. He let his students hold the vials and guess what the drugs were inside. And due to the success rate of correct guesses, he developed the theory that all objects have a 'soul' and that such objects retain a certain memory from that 'soul.'
His findings and theory were discussed in the book he wrote, entitled “Journal of Man,” which talked about Psychometry.