Mid-Century Police Forensic Investigation Archive of Footwear Evidence Analysis and Crime Scene Procedure, Including Black Police Officer, 1950s-1960s

Police Forensic Investigation Archive

Photograph

1950s crime investigation archive documenting police evidence work during a period when departments increasingly relied on crime-scene photography, forensic comparison procedure, footwear evidence analysis, fingerprint comparison, and organized mid-century police evidence methodology to connect suspects to burglaries, thefts, and other property crimes. The material records officers inside a commercial or storage-room setting, examining a desk or cabinet area, inspecting the floor, and documenting a shoeprint impression with a clearly visible sole pattern. One scene includes a Black officer standing among uniformed white officers, a significant detail for mid-century police history, since African American officers in many American cities were still restricted in assignment, promotion, or patrol authority during the 1940s and 1950s. The archive originated from Wisconsin house.

Photo archive of 7 Very large format silver gelatin photographs, each 11" x 13.75", United States, circa 1950s-1960s. This archive showcases the order of investigative procedure with officers entering an interior crime scene, locating possible points of entry or concealment, documenting footwear evidence, conducting footwear comparison analysis, and marking distinctive characteristics for forensic comparison. Uniformed officers in leather jackets and peaked caps gather in a cramped small commercial setting lined with cardboard boxes, while a Black officer is visible between them near the center of the room. Investigators examine the lower section of a desk or built-in counter, with one man crouched partly underneath the work surface and another officer reaching toward the floor. Close-up evidence views record a shoeprint or boot impression pressed into dirt or soft material, with original red circles marking specific cuts, gouges, or comparison points in the sole pattern. Additional views compare a dirty shoe sole against the recovered impression, while another scene places a woman wearing a veterans’ cap in conversation with a suited man in an office with an American flag, possibly connected to witness, victim, or community context.

The presence of a Black officer inside the active investigative setting adds a further historical layer, placing African American law enforcement labor within the daily practice of police work at a time when many departments were only slowly expanding Black officers’ authority beyond segregated or limited assignments. Light curling, handling wear, minor edge creasing, and surface wear visible; images remain clear and detailed. Overall in very good condition.

Item #23398

Price: $550.00