Criminalware

Alphonse Bertillion often posed for mugshots as he was perfecting his technique.

Since the invention of the photographic process, police have been using it to record criminals for identification purposes. By the 1880’s many large cities had a “Rogues Gallery” showing the most notorious criminals of the time. French police inspector Alphonse Bertillion is credited with standardizing how criminal photographs were taken creating the two-view mugshot familiar today. When another potter brought a copy of New York Police Chief Thomas Byrnes book Professional Criminals of America (published in 1886) to the studio, which included mugshots, I was amazed at how normal, ordinary or (for some) quite dashing most of the criminals were. The crimes they committed were interesting as well: sneak thief, bank sneak, sawdust swindler, highwayman or banco man. Along with these crimes that would be nearly impossible today, there were also the usual pickpockets, confidence men, burglars, robbers and murderers.

A few of the criminals from Thomas Byrnes book Professional Criminals of America published in 1886.

After talking about the book with several of the other potters in the studio, we all agreed “mugshot mugs” were a great idea. I decided to run with this thought and expanded it even further to become criminalware. Each piece of a 4-piece dinnerware set has a mugshot and a story connected to it. The photos and associated text are screen printed onto tissue paper transfers, which are used to decorate the ceramic pieces. My first set will include:

A dinner plate with a chicken thief

A bread plate with an Oleomargerine Act violator

A bowl with a poisoned potato soup murderer

A tumbler with a bootlegger

The idea that started it all, mugshot mugs and mugshot glasses will be developed in addition to the coordinated place settings. The process of finding mugshot photographs I find interesting and then doing the research to find out more about the crimes committed has enjoyable and satisfying. 

The plate graphics for the criminalware place setting.

The graphics have been completed for the dinner plate and bread plate. I am still working on getting a high resolution mugshot from the Missouri Digital Heritage for my bowl. I will post photos of the finished criminalware set.