Edward J. Jordan, Burglar

Here's a genuine one of a kind item, a 1912 mug shot card from the Chicago police. The subject is one Edward J. Jordan, burglar, who was 34-years old at the time of the photo. (His rugged looks would fit well in an early Hollywood crime melodrama.) The back of the card notes that he has already served time in the Mansfield, Ohio Reformatory; the Jackson, Michigan penitentiary; and the Columbus, Ohio pen.

At the top of the card (shown below) is an elaborate system of measurements now known as The Bertillon system which was something of a pre-cursor to organized fingerprint collection. Devised by Alphonse Bertillon, the measurements of the head, finger and foot would allow police departments to more easily match potential suspects and prisoners to past offenders. As it was common practice for prisoners to give false names, this would prove to be a wonderful new tool for police departments.

This is a nice item, and the only example I have. There must be thousands of such cards still floating around and if I get more, I'll likely post them here.