(CRIME) Binder containing 65 Philadelphia Police Department

Sale 2191 - Lot 132

Price Realized: $ 2,880

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 1,400 - $ 1,800

(CRIME)
Binder containing 65 Philadelphia Police Department lineup photographs taken during the tumultuous period between the wars, with many pictures of female, African-American, and immigrant suspects. Silver prints, most are 10x8 inches (25.4x20.3 cm.), and the reverse, and several are slightly smaller; many with handwritten or typewritten identification on verso. 1920s-1930s

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Additional Details

The lineup or "showup" photograph, as opposed to the mug shot (which shows only the face), is a full-length depiction that provided police officers with a clear idea of how criminals appeared on the street. Many departments took two versions of the lineup photo, in which wise guys are shown with hats on and hats off. And, when suspects were arrested together, they were also pictured as a group.

This collection originally belonged to Philadelphia police captain James "Jimmy" Ryan, who was a famous crime fighter in the City of Brotherly Love in the 1930s-1940s. A virulent foe of organized crime, he was, reputedly, not adverse to administering his own version of police brutality. When Anthony Cugino, a ganster and confessed police killer, was found hanging in his cell, the gangland rumor was that it wasn't a suicide but a sign of Ryan's punishment.