J. Edgar Hoover’s Division of Investigation and Fingerprint Identification Manual, 1934

J. Edgar Hoover Fingerprint Identification

Pamphlet

Fingerprint instruction pamphlet issued by J. Edgar Hoover’s Division of Investigation during the period in which the federal government consolidated centralized criminal identification systems and standardized fingerprint evidence for nationwide police use. Published one year before the Division formally became the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the pamphlet sets out procedures for fingerprinting “living and deceased individuals,” latent print recovery, and “court decisions” governing evidentiary admissibility, documenting how fingerprint analysis moved from specialized police practice into routine bureaucratic administration and courtroom procedure during the early New Deal period. The manual directly addresses cooperation between local departments and the federal Identification Unit, establishing fingerprint exchange as a coordinated national law-enforcement system rather than an isolated municipal technique. Internal illustrations include completed fingerprint classification cards, enlarged ridge-pattern studies, and procedural demonstrations showing the taking of rolled impressions for permanent criminal records.

Fingerprints: Fingerprinting Living and Deceased Individuals + Latent Fingerprints + Court Decisions. U.S. Department of Justice, Division of Investigation. Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1934. Original printed wrappers. 8vo. 28 pages. The title page bears the seal of the Department of Justice and identifies the publication as a Division of Investigation manual issued before the agency’s 1935 renaming as the FBI. Interior text instructs officers on the preparation of standardized 8 x 8 inch fingerprint cards and warns that “carelessness” in taking impressions may prevent “proper classification.” A reproduced criminal history and fingerprint form labeled “Division of Investigation U.S. Department of Justice” appears alongside procedural discussions of latent print comparison and evidentiary handling. The front wrapper bears a small typed label reading “Federal Building,” suggesting institutional retention or use within a government office environment.

The pamphlet belongs to the period when Hoover’s Identification Division rapidly expanded into one of the largest centralized repositories of fingerprint records in the world, linking municipal police departments, prisons, sheriffs’ offices, and federal investigators through standardized filing and exchange procedures. Its inclusion of “Court Decisions” alongside practical fingerprint instruction preserves the simultaneous legal and administrative consolidation of fingerprint evidence in American criminal prosecutions during the 1930s. Light toning; interior generally clean and complete. Overall good condition.

Item #23388

Price: $285.00