African American Policing and Identification Mugshot Archive Chicago and Miami 1960s to 1970s

African American Incarceration

Archive

Unidentified police photographers, mugshot photograph archive, Chicago, Illinois and Miami, Florida, 1960s to 1970s, documenting law enforcement identification practices applied to African American men in urban contexts during the postwar period. The material documents criminal identification systems through standardized booking photography, revealing how individuals were processed and recorded by police authorities, and providing primary-source evidence for the study of policing, racialized surveillance, and urban justice systems in the United States.

Archive of four silver gelatin photographs comprising a total of eleven images, each presenting front and profile views of individual subjects, with two photographs also including full-body distance views to indicate height. Each photograph measures approximately 4 x 5 inches, with one example from 1974 produced in color while the remainder are in black and white. Verso inscriptions identify subjects by name, with some including additional details such as addresses, aliases, and physical descriptors. The subjects are depicted in civilian attire, including one man wearing a leather jacket with a hairstyle modeled after Elvis Presley, and another in the color image dressed in coordinated clothing, facing the camera with a composed expression. The photographs adhere to consistent compositional standards, emphasizing facial features and bodily orientation for official recordkeeping.

Four photographs comprising eleven mugshot images. Produced during decades marked by increased urban policing and documentation practices, these images reflect routine administrative procedures while also preserving individualized details of appearance, style, and presentation. The inclusion of both black-and-white and color formats indicates technological transition in photographic documentation during the period. Minor handling wear, prints clean and stable; overall very good condition. A concise grouping illustrating mid-twentieth-century law enforcement identification practices affecting African American men in major American cities.

Item #18891

Price: $485.00