Wikipedia

Rogues' gallery

Also found in: Dictionary, Idioms.
This article is about the police photo database. For other uses, see Rogues' gallery (disambiguation).
New York City Police Department rogues gallery, July 1909

A rogues' gallery (or rogues gallery) is a police collection of mug shots or other images of criminal suspects kept for identification purposes.[1]

History

In 1855, Allan Pinkerton, founder of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, established a rogues' gallery[2] – a compilation of descriptions, methods of operation (modi operandi), hiding places, and names of criminals and their associates. Another early collection was established circa 1854 or 1855 by the detective Isaiah W. Lees of the San Francisco Police Department.[3]

Inspector Thomas Byrnes of the late-19th-century New York City Police Department popularized the term with his collection of photographs of known criminals, which was used for witness identification. Byrnes published some of these photos with details of the criminals in Professional Criminals of America (1886).[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ Solbert, Oscar N.; Beaumont, Newhall; Card, James G., eds. (April 1952). "Rogue's Gallery" (PDF). Image, Journal of Photography of George Eastman House. Rochester, N.Y.: International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House Inc. 1 (7): 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  2. ^ Pinkerton, Allan. Strikers, Communists, Tramps and Detectives (1878) Online at Archive.org
  3. ^ Palmquist, Peter E.; Kailbourn, Thomas R. (2000). Pioneer Photographers of the Far West: A Biographical Dictionary, 1840–1865. Stanford University Press. p. 362. ISBN 0-80-473883-1.
  4. ^ Byrnes, Thomas. Professional Criminals of America (1886) Online at Archive.org
This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia® - the free encyclopedia created and edited by its online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of Wikipedia® encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information, please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.

Copyright © 2003-2025 Farlex, Inc Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.