Heading: (San Francisco - Police Mug Book)
Author:
Title: Original mug book compiled by the San Francisco Police Department, with wanted notices, descriptions and pictures of hundreds of wanted criminals and suspects
Place Published: San Francisco
Publisher:
Date Published: April 1909-Feb. 1910
Description:

169 pp. (numbered 1-189, with 20 pages, i.e. 10 leaves, not present). Wanted notices, descriptions, postcards, etc. glued to the leaves. Many illustrated, most halftones from photographs, but including 38 original mounted photographic prints. 30x25.5 cm (11¾x10"), original half leather & marbled boards.

Fascinating and revealing scrapbook-style record book containing some 280 circulars, bulletins, handbills, postcards, and similar items distributed to law enforcement agencies in California to provide and seek information about wanted individuals. Includes items from all over California, stretching from San Diego in the south to Humboldt County in the north. Many offer rewards, and many are illustrated with half-tone portraits of the wanted individuals; 38 include one or more original mugshots or other real photographs. Several items are handwritten, likely recording information taken over the telephone before a printed version could be printed and distributed. Each item is ink-stamped with the date it was received at the Office of the Chief of Police, Hall of Justice, San Francisco. Men (and just a few women) are wanted for forgery; burglary; embezzlement; auto, motorcycle, and bicycle theft; seduction; desertion; passing fictitious checks; grand larceny; fraud; horse and cattle theft; parole violations, escape, elopement, rape, and murder. One man is simply "wanted for an unspeakable crime." A small number of the circulars seek missing persons or runaways.

Although these documents range in scope and length, each offers an interesting and fairly detailed description of the individual and circumstances involved. Even from a postcard, we learn that the wanted man chews tobacco, dresses well, walks quickly, has an imitation alligator suitcase, served in the Philippine war, and worked as a railroad conductor before embezzling money from the City of Sebastapol. Longer circulars describe tattoos ("Inkmarks - Naked female entwined with snake, battleship below outside left forearm, girl in swimming costume outside left forearm, horses head enclosed in horseshoe...American flag, and words 'Our Flag,' letters 'D.S.' in scroll, double heart pierced by arrow, clasped hands and flower right arm"), modus operandi ("usually rents a room in a private rooming house and pretends to be a clairvoyant and palmist, by this means getting his victims to put up money for bogus stock"), or known associates ("He is accompanied by a small dark Jewish woman, quite sharp features, face runs to point at chin, she talks very broken...Should you locate the woman, the man will show up"). Several of the bulletins seeking prison escapees include Bertillon measurements--a series of anthropometric data points (such as skull width and foot length) that were part of recently developed system of criminal identification. Others take a less scientific approach, describing the criminal's way of walking, tone of voice, style of dress, or smile. Collectively, these documents offer a fascinating assemblage of information on both criminal behavior in early twentieth century California and on approaches to describing crime and criminals prior to the widespread use of fingerprinting.

Covers rubbed, edges worn, spine strip lacking with "1909 Cal." inked over the bare signatures; internally very good with some normal darkening and discoloration from glue.