As photography became cheaper and more mainstream in the 1910's, police departments across the world began taking photos that would later be called "mugshots". However, at the start of the 1920's, there was no guidebook on what they should look like. Thankfully the Sydney Museum preserved these amazing, stylized photos that give a rare look in to life in the 1920's. 15 Photos follow...
August 5, 1924 - Guiseppe Fiorio aka "Permontto". This photo of the dapper, confident Mr. Fiori wasn't accompanied with an entry in the police gazette, but sources say he was an accomplished safe-breaker.
August 19, 1927 - Ernes James Montague. Unknown charges.
April 12, 1920, "Silent Tom" Richards and T Ross Walton. Unknown charges.
February 4, 1929, Frank Murray aka "Harry Williams". Though Mr. Murray was known to have a quiet disposition, he was convicted of numerous thievery charges. The notes state that he "frequents hotels and wine bars" as well!
August 27, 1920, Gilbert Burleigh and Joseph Delaney. These men were what were called "hotel barbers" back in the day. They would check in to a hotel and then rob other patrons in the early morning hours.
July 20, 1921, Hampton Hirscham, Cornellius Joseph Keevil, William Thomas O'Brien and James O'Brien. Unknown charges. But what a group!
August 13, 1923, Harold Price. Mr. Price is captured here after being arrested during an armed robbery. He was sentenced to two years hard labour, which was a standard sentence in Australia at the time.
1920, Herbert Ellis. The handsome Mr. Ellis was arrested many dimes during his life, and among his convictions were "indecent language" and "throwing a missile". We're not even sure what that means, but that's what the records say!
June, 1921 - John Walter Ford and Oswald Clive Nash. Unknown charges, but oftentimes the location of the mugshots were indications of the disdain the police had for the men. John and Oswald appear here in a holding cell, which implies they were moved quickly in to the jail.
May 1st, 1925 - William Stanley Moore. The caption describes him as: "an opium dealer operating with large quantities of faked opium and cocaine. Also a wharf labourer and associates with water front thieves and drug traders." Sounds like he led a pretty complex operation!
November 27, 1922 - Kong Lee. Evidently the young Kong Lee was a career thief, noted many times in the police records as either a safe blower or thief. A February 1929 notation notes that Lee was recently seen moving about the trains among "card sharpers and spielers".
October 11, 1921 - Sidney "Pretty Sid" Grant. Mr. Grant was a well-known con man who often used a trick known as the "Hot Seat". In this scheme, he and a partner would rope in a stranger to temporarily overlook a large sum of money. The holder, promised a handsome payment upon pickup, would be asked to hand over some of his own money as a guarantee that he wouldn't run off with it. The men would then disappear and the holder would later realize the money was counterfeit or filled with fake bills under real money.
June 25, 1924, Sidney Kelly. Though this photo wasn't paired with any known charges, Mr. Kelly was a lifelong criminal and would ultimately go on pioneer an illegal baccarat operating in Sydney.
January 25, 1928 - Thomas Craig, Ray Neil ("Gaffney the Gunman"), William Thompson, and FW Wilson. This photo captures four of the 15 men arrested in a raid led by the local Police Chief on a house that was frequented by "reputed thieves". It's so fascinating to not only see how well dressed many of these men were at the time of their arrest, but also that some were photographed with their associates.
February 9, 1922, Walter Keogh. Though this 1922 photo came after a simple pickpocketing charge, Mr. Keogh would ultimately become a seasoned con man in the real estate trade. He would run a job as what was called a 'go-getter', which meant he would sell land plots by convincing buyers they could be promptly re-sold for a large return.
July 30, 1923, William Cahill. Unknown charges, but they certainly did allow him to strike a pose in this shot; notice the cigarette in his right hand as well.
