About this artwork
Beginning in the later 19th century, police departments used photography not just to record arrests, but also to identify physical traits thought to predict deviant tendencies. In the 1880s, Parisian police department clerk Alphonse Bertillon developed the mug shot, the name given to the standard format of police portrait photography that includes a frontal and profile image of the subject. Bertillon produced the photographs in conjunction with a system of body measurements designed to identify suspects through facial structure. In 1894 the Chicago police department became one of the first in the United States to implement Bertillon’s tracking system, establishing a National Bureau of Crime Identification that kept an archive of mug shots and measurements. This photograph was likely taken before 1914, when states throughout the country outlawed the use of striped prison uniforms because of the demoralizing effect they had on inmates.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Photography and Media
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Artist
- Unknown
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Title
- Untitled (Mug Shot)
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Place
- United States (Artist's nationality)
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Date
- Made 1894–1914
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Medium
- Gelatin silver print
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Dimensions
- Image, approx: 7.6 × 11.4 cm (3 × 4 1/2 in.)
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Credit Line
- Purchased with funds provided by Anstiss Hammond Drake
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Reference Number
- 1989.13.5
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.
