A page from a prison record ledger, 1873. The page contains a portrait and information about a convicted criminal, Mary Clark. Clark, a nineteen-year-old factory hand, was arrested for theft in Gateshead in June 1873 and sentenced to three months hard labour.

A page from a prison record ledger, 1873.

The page contains a portrait and information about a convicted criminal, Mary Clark. Clark, a nineteen-year-old factory hand, was arrested for theft in Gateshead in June 1873 and sentenced to three months hard labour.

The use of photography to record known criminals - the 'mug shot '- had been suggested as early as the 1840s. In 1871, the Prevention of Crime Act made it a legal requirement that all persons arrested for a crime must have their photographs taken.