[Album of Paris Crime Scenes] - Public domain dedication. Metropolitan Museum of Art image.

Alphonse Bertillon, who held the position of Chief of Criminal Identification within the Paris Police Department, played a pivotal role in the development of standardized photographic techniques for law enforcement purposes, including the establishment of the mug shot format. The compilation of remarkable forensic photographs found in this collection is attributed to Bertillon's involvement, although it is likely that it was curated by an individual such as a private investigator or secretary affiliated with the Paris prefecture. This album comprises a diverse array of images, encompassing photographs of lifeless murder victims, scenes depicting the locations of the homicides, detailed close-ups of items serving as potential evidentiary clues, and portraits in the mug shot style featuring both criminals and individuals under suspicion. These visuals were crafted primarily for archival and investigative purposes, rather than as works of art. Evidencing a detached and objective approach reminiscent of a formal police report, these postmortem portraits nevertheless retain a disconcerting and impactful quality.

Alphonse Bertillon was a French policeman and photographer known for developing the first scientific system of criminal identification. Born in Paris in 1853, he was the son of Louis-Adolphe Bertillon, a prominent physician and statistician. Bertillon joined the Paris police force in 1879 and quickly became interested in developing a more accurate method of identifying criminals. At the time, the only way to identify a criminal was through eyewitness testimony or physical characteristics such as scars or tattoos. Bertillon began experimenting with different measurements of the human body and developed a system that used a combination of measurements to create a unique profile for each individual. This system, known as Bertillonage, involved taking measurements of the head, torso, arms and legs, as well as photographs and detailed descriptions of physical features. The Bertillon system was quickly adopted by police forces around the world and was used to identify thousands of criminals. However, it was not infallible and was eventually replaced by fingerprinting as the primary method of identification. In addition to his work in criminal identification, Bertillon was also a skilled photographer and used his skills to document crime scenes and evidence. He died in 1914 at the age of 61.

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