Mugshots of 19-century crooks jailed for stealing bread and highway robbery go up for auction
A BOOK containing mugshots of 600 crooks from more than 150 years ago is up for auction.
Crimes committed by the vintage villains — some just kids — include theft of bread, coal and a cockerel, plus highway robbery.
Handwritten notes accompany the snaps taken at Folkingham County Gaol, near Bourne, Lincs, between 1869 and 1882.
Rupert Pink, of Batemans auctioneers, said: “Their faces are very expressive and they are all wearing their Sunday best.
“For most this would have been the first and last photo ever taken of them. They all look as though they could have been characters in a Dickens novel.”
The book is expected to fetch £500 at the sale in Stamford, Lincs, on December 2.
NAME: HANNAH BIRCH
CRIME: STOLE BREAD
SENTENCE: TWO MONTHS IN JAIL
NAME: MARY SMITH
CRIME: STEALING
SENTENCE: 21 DAYS IN JAIL
NAME: CHARLES PATTERSON
CRIME: WOUNDING
SENTENCE: YEAR’S JAIL
NAME: LOUISA ASHBY
CRIME: STOLE LOCKET AND STOCKINGS
SENTENCE: NO DETAIL
NAME: ROBERT HOLINES
CRIME: STOLE COCKEREL
SENTENCE: 14 DAYS IN JAIL
NAME: CHARLES MELLISH
CRIME: HIGHWAY ROBBERY
SENTENCE: 12 MONTHS OF HARD LABOUR
NAME: JANE BOLLENDS
CRIME: STOLE BOOKS
SENTENCE: ONE MONTH IN JAIL
NAME: JOHN COOK
CRIME: STOLE TEN SHILLINGS
SENTENCE: MONTH’S JAIL
NAME: KATE SCREANY
CRIME: STOLE COAL
SENTENCE: ONE MONTH IN JAIL
NAME: TOM BROUGHTON
CRIME: STOLE TEN SHILLINGS
SENTENCE: MONTH’S JAIL
NAME: THOMAS BEETON
CRIME: STOLE MONEY
SENTENCE: ONE MONTH IN JAIL
NAME: JOHN UPTON
CRIME: STEALING
SENTENCE: ONE MONTH IN JAIL
NAME: GEORGE BLUNDY
CRIME: STEALING
SENTENCE: 14 DAYS IN JAIL