Davidson’s fascination with these single-exposure ambrotypes began with Elizabeth Wohlman’s portrait (top) and snowballed from there. After digging through historical court records, newspapers, and city directories, Davidson has researched hundreds of antique mugshots depicting shoplifters, grifters, counterfeiters, pickpockets, a “wife murderer.”

“Part of it is a fascination with the individual stories and the moment that has been caught on film or the glass plate,” she says. “I’m interested in crime and I wonder what drives certain people to break the law.”

Of course, this rogues’ gallery is not merely a record of individuals but reflects the attitudes of America way back when.

“Certain groups, such as recent immigrants, were more likely to be arrested and photographed than others. The poor were more likely to be arrested and photographed. Mugshots give us a glimpse of people that society otherwise pretty much hated or feared,” Davidson points out. “The tendency to focus on immigrants and marginalized ethnic and religious groups is nothing new.”

Though Davidson is neither a criminologist or an expert in social sciences, her research is thorough, eye-opening, and a gift to us all. She, and we, need images to understand and appreciate history, she says. Now, we can view over 200 of such ambrotype portraits on a backlit screen alongside Davidson’s research in her new e-book Captured and Exposed: The First Police Rogues’ Gallery in America.

“Photos deliver information that can’t be conveyed by words,” she says. “I think our society values words above images, at least when it comes to history.”

Images courtesy the Missouri History Museum.