Prisoners: Murder, Mayhem, and Petit Larceny

by Arne Svenson

Prisoners is a collection of seventy extraordinary portraits of turn-of-the-century prisoners and the fascinating newspaper and prison accounts from their day describing the crimes of which they were accused. Printed from their original glass negatives, these powerful photographs capture the character and pathos of men young and old charged with crimes as desperate as the theft of a pair of shoes and as cold-blooded as murder. Reconnecting the accounts of their misdeeds and misfortunes with these rare photographs, Arne Svenson has created much more than a mere rogues' Prisoners is an aesthetic, historical, and philosophical evocation of the lives of these forgotten men.
Beautifully reproduced in duotone, these photographs are stunning portraits lost to time until now. Written in the hand of the original photographer onto each glass negative is the name of the accused and his crime, forever shackling the man to his offense.

160 pages, Paperback

First published October 7, 1997

Reviews

[Peter]

Mugshots of morphine fiends, vagrants, floaters, and small fry crooks, taken from the original glass negatives, circa 1905-1908. They were taken by a Mrs. C.S. Smith, who, in addition to snapping rogues for local law enforcement, took children's photographs; indeed, most of the time, she used the same backdrop for both.

[Gemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible. Am embarking on a similar project, digitizing prison archives, and this book/author are wildly inspiring.