At Christmas they were made to work hard for stealing items to keep them warm.
These rare mugshots, taken in December 1872, show Victorian thieves being locked up at Christmas for minor crimes such as coal theft.
All of the fascinating photographs were taken at around the same time by police at Wandsworth Prison in London and are kept in the National Archives of England and Wales for posterity.
The criminals were found guilty of stealing items such as woolen jumpers and coats to keep warm. Others were jailed for stealing food, such as 17-year-old Sydney Lowman, who was sentenced to six weeks’ hard labor in Wandsworth for stealing “half a pint” of milk.
Of course, it’s entirely plausible that at least some of these people were deliberately committing crimes so they could spend the Yuletide behind bars. However conditions in London prisons in the 1870s were harsh: Victorian penal philosophy focused on deterrence and moral reform.
17-year-old James Ealing was convicted of stealing a tin can and half a pint of milk on Christmas Eve, 1872. He was given a month’s hard sentence in Wandsworth Prison and was locked up for Christmas.Julia Kiely, 30, was convicted of stealing two pounds of bacon on Christmas Eve in 1872. He was sentenced to 21 days’ hard labor in Wandsworth Prison.17-year-old John Sullivan was convicted of stealing a coat and a lump of coal on December 16, 1872. He was given one month rigorous imprisonment.22-year-old Mary Baxter was convicted of stealing a tablecloth on December 13, 1872. She was sentenced to 14 days of hard labour, which meant she was let out the day after Christmas Day.Thomas Mackett, 24, was convicted of stealing nine pounds of beef on Christmas Eve.Ellen Smith, 52, was convicted of stealing an umbrella on December 17, 1872.18-year-old Henry Marsh was convicted of stealing a coat on December 23, 1872. He was given six weeks’ hard labor.17-year-old George Buzzing was convicted of stealing a woolen shirt on December 19, 1872. He was sentenced to 14 days’ hard labor in Wandsworth Prison and was held until New Year’s Day.16-year-old Robert Graham was convicted of stealing 11 pairs of socks on New Year’s Eve in 1872. He was given one month’s rigorous imprisonment.Mary Sowerby, 69, was convicted of stealing a bedsheet on December 21, 1872. He received one month rigorous imprisonment.15-year-old John Powers was convicted of stealing cloth on December 10, 1872. He was given a month’s hard sentence in Wandsworth Prison.Caroline Lightfoot, 51, was convicted of stealing a drinking glass on December 4, 1872. He was given two months rigorous imprisonment.Ben Beaumont, 32, was convicted of stealing a rabbit and a duck worth four shillings six pence on December 19, 1872. He was given one month rigorous imprisonment.William Ashley, 27, was convicted of stealing a rabbit on December 2, 1872. He was given a hard sentence of six weeks in a London prison.Harry Williams, 42, was convicted of stealing lumps of coal on December 26, 1872. He was given a hard sentence of 14 days in Wandsworth Prison.16-year-old John Hanks was convicted of stealing a woolen shirt on December 19, 1872. He was sentenced to 14 days of hard labour.16-year-old Daniel Kelly was convicted of stealing half a piece of iron on December 23, 1872. He was given a hard sentence of 14 days in Wandsworth Prison.Catherine Flynn, 63, was convicted of stealing six shillings from a man on December 9, 1872.30-year-old Rhoda Leaf was convicted of stealing her owner’s shirt on December 2, 1872. He was given six weeks’ hard labor.17-year-old Sidney Lowman was convicted of stealing a can and a half pint of milk on December 27, 1872. He was given a six-week hard sentence in Wandsworth Prison.17-year-old Edward Poller was convicted of stealing a pet pigeon on December 7, 1872. He was given one month rigorous imprisonment.Agnes Rose Flowers, 44, was convicted of stealing a shirt worth two shillings six pence on December 16, 1872. He was given a month’s hard sentence in Wandsworth Prison.20-year-old John Kitchenside was convicted of stealing oats worth three shillings on December 23, 1872. He was given a six-week hard sentence in Wandsworth Prison.16-year-old Eliza Smith was convicted of stealing three sacks on December 4, 1872. He was sentenced to a month’s rigorous imprisonment in Wandsworth Prison at Christmas.John Williams, 60, was convicted of stealing a saw worth five shillings on Christmas Eve in 1872. He was given a month’s hard sentence in Wandsworth Prison.
Concerned about crime, the Victorians turned to the camera so they could record a criminal’s likeness. The photos above were probably taken on a large format camera with a bellows.
The mugshot was not officially invented until nearly a decade after a French police officer took photographs of Wandsworth Prison Alphonse Bertillon Standardized lighting and angles were introduced. Bertillon introduced an international standard Still used today.
