A Brief History of the Mug Shot (2024)

A Brief History of the Mug Shot (1)

Editor’s note, August 25, 2023:This story has been updated following the release of the first presidential mug shot.

In the spring of 1841, just after finishing his inauguration speech, William Henry Harrison became the first United States president to be photographed. The portrait was a daguerreotype, created with a newly invented process that produced a photograph in minutes rather than hours.

While Harrison’s image was lost to history, a photographer snapped the oldest surviving presidential photograph just two years later: a portrait of John Quincy Adams, taken over a decade after his time in office. Sitting in front of a fireplace and a stack of books, with a sharp gaze fixed just below the camera lens, the politician is portrayed with a stately solemnity.

Since then, many famous photos of presidents have become etched in the American psyche: Harry Truman holding the prematurely printed newspaper declaring his defeat in the 1948 election, Richard Nixon boarding his helicopter after resigning in 1974, George W. Bush learning of the 9/11 attacks in 2001, Barack Obama sitting in the Situation Room during the mission to kill Osama bin Laden in 2011.

During his term, Donald Trump also appeared in a number of memorable images. Now, he is the subject of a new photographic first: the presidential mug shot.

SinceMarch, Trump has been indicted four times, becoming the first former president to face criminal charges. (The first—and so far only—sitting president to be arrested was Ulysses S. Grant, who waspulled overfor speeding in his horse-drawn carriage in 1872.)

Yesterday, Trump surrendered at Atlanta’s Fulton County jail on more than a dozen counts related to his alleged efforts to reverse Georgia’s election results. While other jurisdictions had allowed him to skip certain formalities, in Fulton County he was fingerprinted, measured,weighed—and photographed.

A Brief History of the Mug Shot (2)

Like the presidential portrait, the mug shot’s history begins as early as the 1840s, when prisoners in Belgium were photographed so they could be identified if they committed crimes after their sentences ended. Over the following decades, police departments around the world began experimenting with ways to incorporate photography into their work. In the U.S., police created rogues’ galleries of mug shots, sometimes even publishing them and encouraging upstanding citizens to keep a watchful eye out for troublemakers.

The practice, however, didn’t become standardized until the 1880s, when Alphonse Bertillon, chief of criminal identification for the Paris police, streamlined the process.

A Brief History of the Mug Shot (3)

Bertillon’s mug shot consisted of two photographs—one facing the camera, the other in profile—attached to a written description of physical features and certain measurements, such as the size of someone’s ear or foot. Together, these elements were called a portrait parlé, or “speaking image.”

“Bertillon designed the portrait parlé in an effort to catch masters of disguise who committed crimes under different aliases,” wrote Shawn Michelle Smith in the journal Aperture in 2018. “He proposed that although a repeat offender might conceal his identity, one would be able to discover him if his physical measurements matched those of ‘another’ offender already recorded.”

In 1908, the New York City Police Department compiled a series of images showing how to properly take a mug shot and the accompanying measurements. According to Smith, some of these images even “simulate people who refuse to sit for their mug shots and are wrestled into submission before the camera by multiple men, suggesting that not all subjects would be amenable to these extensive measurements.”

Soon after, “Bertillon’s method of recording anthropometric data lost out to the more reliable process of fingerprinting,” wrote Slate’s Julia Felsenthal in 2010.

The mug shot, however, endured.

“Whenever you go through an airport or … a train station … and somebody asks to see your identification document, that all has roots in the late 1800s and the work of people like Bertillon and his contemporaries,” Jonathan Finn, a police photography expert, told NPR’s Hansi Lo Wang in 2016.

A Brief History of the Mug Shot (4)

Today, the vast majority of mug shots portray people who aren’t famous—and sometimes even people who haven’t committed crimes. Mug shots can be published in newspapers before the subject is actually convicted. In recent years, public opinion has started turning against the practice, and some newsrooms have stopped using mug shots altogether.

“Mug shot slideshows whose primary purpose is to generate page views will no longer appear on our websites,” Mark Lorando, a managing editor at the Houston Chronicle, told the Marshall Project’s Keri Blakinger in 2020. “We’re better than that.”

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Among celebrities, mug shots are staples of tabloid gossip. They are “a genre unto themselves, notable for providing that rare opportunity to see the rich and beautiful brought low,” writes the Washington Post’s Gillian Brockell.

In specific contexts, such as the civil rights movement, famous mug shots are seen as a mark of integrity. Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. and many other famous activists had mug shots taken when they were arrested for protesting.

Exceptions also exist for celebrities who have crafted an image involving an outlaw spirit as a central tenet. Throughout his career, Johnny Cash spent several one-night stints behind bars, and he spun one of those experiences into the song “Starkville City Jail.” Today, a T-shirt with Cash’s mug shot and the text “American Rebel” is on sale in the singer’s official store for $25.

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A Brief History of the Mug Shot (6)

Ellen Wexler | | READ MORE

Ellen Wexler is Smithsonian magazine’sassistant digital editor, humanities.

A Brief History of the Mug Shot (2024)

FAQs

What is the history of the mug shot? ›

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.

Why are mugshots taken from above? ›

Using Shadows and Lighting – Lighting and shadows can dramatically alter how a mugshot is perceived. Harsh lighting from above can create deep shadows around the eyes and under the nose, giving the subject a more sinister appearance.

Where did mugshots restaurants originate? ›

We are a founder-led organization, first opening in 2004 in Hattiesburg, MS. Our menu features a lineup of our famous and award-winning burgers served on our signature bun.

What is the history of mugs? ›

Coffee mugs date back to ancient times, with the earliest known examples made from bones around 12,000 BCE. Pottery mugs emerged around 4000 BCE in the Neolithic period, evolving over centuries into modern designs.

Who was the famous mug shot in 1938? ›

Frank Sinatra was arrested by the Bergen County, New Jersey sheriff in 1938 and charged with seduction and adultery - a criminal offense in those times. He was tagged with 'Arrest 42799' and this notorious mug shot. The charge was later changed to adultery, and eventually dismissed.

Are mug shots healthy? ›

Whether you're after a quick tasty lunch or a snack to tide you over until your next meal, we've got a delicious product for you. Every recipe is packed full of tasty ingredients, with all natural flavours, low calories, less than 2% fat and contains no MSG.

Are mugshots public in the US? ›

Once someone has been booked and had their mugshot taken, the arrest information becomes part of the public domain. Since mugshots are in the public domain, police departments, law enforcement agencies and government entities are allowed to post this info on the internet.

Why do some people not get mugshots? ›

A new state law took effect January 1 prohibiting agencies from posting most mugshots on social media. EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. — Love it or hate it, social media has become an important part of all our lives and it's no different for law enforcement agencies.

Are mugshots ever deleted? ›

Unfortunately, mugshots can stay online indefinitely if steps are not taken to remove them. Even getting your records sealed or expunged, which is supposed to mean your case is confidential and a company should remove any trace of your arrest, does not necessarily delete a mugshot online.

Why do mugshots have towels? ›

Why do police put a white towel on a person to hide their neck in their mugshot? - Quora. Something like that is a matter of agency policy and protocol. Normally, it isn't used to “hide” somebody's neck, but rather to cover street clothes they might be wearing at the time.

Why do mugshots exist? ›

mug shot, photographic image taken by law enforcement officials during the booking process to be used to identify individuals accused of a crime. It usually appears as two portraits focused tightly on the sitter's head, one in which the subject faces the camera and the other in profile.

Who owns mugshots coffee? ›

A Message From Kara & Brian, The Owners of Mugshots

What amazed us was the outpouring of individuals who truly love Mugshots and want to see that same community-centric vision continue.

What restaurants was the first fast food restaurant in the United States? ›

Most historians agree that the American company White Castle was the first fast-food outlet, starting in Wichita, Kansas in 1916 with food stands and founding in 1921, selling hamburgers for five cents apiece from its inception and spawning numerous competitors and emulators.

What is the history of the drinking cup? ›

The earliest known drinking vessels were made from pottery—clay hardened by heat—and date back to the Upper Palaeolithic age. During the Bronze Age (3300–1200 BCE), when metalworking techniques were introduced, bronze and gold cups and goblets started to emerge.

When did people start drinking out of mugs? ›

Today we mostly use ceramic mugs to drink hot teas and hot chocolate — the hotter, the better. But back in the day, or somewhere around 2,000 BCE, most people used metal mugs. These were made from bronze, gold, lead, and silver. Japan and China gave us our first pottery mugs somewhere in 10,000 BCE.

Why is mug slang for face? ›

As you know, mug can also be a colloquial term for "face", and this sense came from the "cup" meaning because of a fad in seventeenth-century England where drinking mugs were made in the shapes of grotesque faces.

What is the history of the Tanner Cup? ›

The competition is named after George Tanner, who donated the trophy, and was first sailed in 1945. Many of New Zealand's top sailors have competed in and won the Tanner Cup, including Russell Coutts, Dean Barker, Adam Minoprio and Jo Aleh.

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