Mug Shots of Criminals Posing With Hats in Calgary, 1920

A mug shot is a photographic portrait of a person from the shoulders up, typically taken after a person is arrested. The original purpose of the mug shot was to allow law enforcement to have a photographic record of an arrested individual to allow for identification by victims, the public and investigators.

After the defeat of the Paris Commune in 1871, the Prefecture of Police of Paris hired a photographer, Eugène Appert, to take portraits of convicted prisoners. In 1888, Alphonse Bertillon invented the modern mug shot featuring full face and profile views, standardizing the lighting and angles. This system was soon adopted throughout Europe, and in the United States and Russia.

These photos of 1920s criminals absolutely fascinating, partly because mug shots make for really interesting candid photographs, but also because of the variety of different hats worn by the men in these photos. They were all taken in Calgary, Canada in 1920.

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26 Amazing Vintage Photos of the First Nations People Before the 1900s

Alex Ross (1851–1894) came to Calgary, Alberta in 1884 and set up a photographic studio at the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Osler Street. He had previously worked for a photographer in Winnipeg, but felt the time was right to strike out on his own and establish his own business.

He quickly became well-known for his photographs of the First Nations people in the Calgary area, especially the Tsuu T'ina (called Sarcee at that time) and the Blackfoot. Some of the photographs were taken outdoors, but many more were carefully-posed studio shots. By 1891 the studio seems to have closed, and three years later Ross died at the relatively young age of 43.

Blackfoot boys, ca. 1886-94

Blackfoot man in blanket, 1886-89

Blackfoot man with knife, ca. 1885-94

Blackfoot man with rifle, Alberta, 1887

Blackfoot warrior with sword, 1887

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