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[ Photography, cdvs ] 1884/5 Mugshot album containing 47 mugshots of criminals and their details

[ Lowell / Lawrence / Lynn Massachusetts ]: various 1885-1885. First Edition. 6 x 6 1/2 leather standard carte de visite (CDV) album missing half of the closing clasp containing 24 thick cardstock leaves with slots on each side for inserting photographs. Roughly 3 inches thick. All edges gilt. Leather spine very worn with joints starting and leather loose. All pages are pencil annotated on the cardstock as well as annotated on the rear of the photograph. Images are mostly average tonality with some lighter and some darker. Condition of photographic emulsions are excellent. Very Good. [28347]


A fantastic mugshot album of criminals from the North Shore of Massachusetts in 1884 and 1885. The criminals photographed appear to start in January 1884 and extend into early 1885. As the album is marked "2" with a small spine label there were probably others in the timeline before or after, now lost to time. Each album page contains two cdvs one on verso, the other on recto. Each page with penciled note of crime at top and name of criminal at the bottom. Most mugshots are unique, but some are apparently accomplices given the crime locations and arresting officers. Tonality varies, with some sharp and clean, others faded. Subjects look much the same - some sharp and clean and oddly happy to be in a mugshot, others disheveled and worn out by life.

It gets even more interesting when you remove the cdvs from the album. On the verso of each is additional information. For convenience we're calling the styles Type One, Two and Three. “Type One” (17 examples) has a printed paper label affixed to the rear with attributes like Name, aliases (!!!), age, color, born, trade, marriage status, height, weight, physical characteristics (tattoos, deformities), date of arrest, arresting officer, and comments. “Type Two”(15 examples) is a cdv with written comments on rear, no photographer marks visible -- typically less information than type one just noting name and crime and occasional other notes. “Type Three” (15 examples) is a cdv with written comments on rear plus a printed photographer's mark.

In our experience, cdv mugshots from 1884/5 are far less common than later printed examples that might for instance be pinned up in the local post office. Collections related to a specific area are quite rare, with only one similar collection that we could trace at auction. This allbum contains mugshots of people whose crimes were conducted or who were captured in the North Shore of Massachusetts. A summary of some of the crimes, localities represented, and surnames are included below. A (not-exhaustive) transcription of many of the backs of the cards are available to the new owner. Three examples from that list are below:

11) Skinner, Bertram. Burglar. Type One. Alias John Reardon. Laundryman. Officer Joseph E. Shaw, April 17th 1884 arrest. “Notorious liar”. Photographer: Staniford's Essex St Salem. Image foxed.
12) Howard, Joe. Bank burglar. Type Two. “Arrested at Binghamton NY by one of Pinkerton men now with the Forepaughs circus May 1884”
13) Lowe, Thomas (?) Murderer. Type Two. “Crossed an Englishman, worked in Black Smith Shops as helper also as teamster. A desirter from the English army. Arrested May 24, 1884 for the murder of Ellery Sullivan of No Andover. 10 years old.” Excellent tonality

Crimes (qty): Horse thief (4), Burglar (13), Thief (8), Murderer (4) , Bank Burglar (1), Rape (1), Larceny (2), Forgery (1), Pickpocket (2), Breaking & Entering (3), Highwayman (2), Incendiary (2), Confidence man (1), Horse & sneak thief (1), and Counterfeiter (2) .

Surnames (not including aliases): Champion, Hawkins, Rogers, Gray, Thompson, Day, Gilis, Gale, Curtin, Skinner, Howard, Lowe , Flanagan, Kelly, Foster, Birgham, Harkins, McAleaer, Wells, Lawless, Rowe, Perry, Roberts, Edwards, Montgomery, Boyle, Kennedy, Brown, Morrill, Davis, bernstien, Hoyt, Bonner, Brown, Emery, Chapman, Gifford, Linchey, Garman, Cram, Kendred, Jones, True, Mansfield, Cosgrove, Waters, Franklin.

Towns appearing in arrests, jail or photographers (representative not exhaustive): Lawrence (8), Lynn (3), Salem (5) , North Andover (1), Lowell (7), Exeter NH (1), Newburyport (4), Gloucester (7), Portsmouth NH (2), Salisbury Beach (1)

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