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I Colorized 9 Mugshots Of Real Life 1930s Criminals And Here Are Their Stories
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I am an artist, Matt Loughrey, based in Ireland, working behind the ‘My Colorful Past’ project. For the first time, I brought back to life in color the mugshots of various criminals which date back to the 1930s. The mugshots were taken from a police identification book, this is a rogue’s gallery of real life criminals from Newcastle-upon-Tyne arrested for theft, breaking and entering, pick pocketing, and begging.
Colorization is a game of patience and fact finding. In some shape or form, it has existed since the advent of photography through the use of chemical colorization. In a digital age, these methods have long been abandoned in favor of dedicated hardware and software to match. I work with a Wacom Mobile Studio Pro to produce everything from colorization to animation.
In 2016, my work was noticed online by WACOM. They recognized the value in what I was undertaking and looked to support and promote what I was doing. The following year, my work was published by National Geographic magazine. What was originally a side interest for me fast became a priority.
In 2018, I undertook a project to bring hundreds of inmate mugshots to life for a respected Australian museum. It is the largest colorization project of its kind and details of this will be announced soon. At present, I am exploring a whole series of colorization and animation possibilities that are bringing historical photographs to life, from Ellis Island to the American Civil War. These specific projects are about relatability and education combined.
More info: Instagram
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Thomas Orange
Thomas Orange, who sported a haircut very similar to Cilian Murphy's character in Peaky Blinders, was born in 1907. He was a labourer and had a scar on his right eyebrow, left wrist and knee. He was known for larceny and forcing locks to break into shops.
Name: ORANGE Thomas, Born: 1907, Trade: Labourer, Comp.: Fresh, Build: Prop., Eyes: Brown, Ht.: 5'5", Hair: Brown, Marks: Scar rt. eyebrow, left wrist & knee, M.O. etc.: Shop and Warehousebreaker, larceny, forces lock or uses duplicate key, associate 1655.
James Potter
James Potter, born in 1901 he was a labourer and had a long operation scar on the right side of his neck. He was known for breaking into pubs, shops and warehouses.
Name: POTTER James Boyd, Aliases: Fatty Potter., Born: 1901, Trade: Labourer, Comp.: fresh, Build: prop., Eyes: blue, Ht.: 5'1", Hair: brown, Marks: Long operation scar rt. side of neck., M.O., etc.: Public-house, Shop and Warehousebreaking and Receiving. Associates with all classes of thieves.
James Hargreaves Jones
James Hargreaves Jones was born in 1896 and has a distinctive scar on the side of his face. He was said to be a beggar and known for breaking into empty houses.
Name: JONES James Hargreaves, Born: 1896, Trade: Moulder, Comp.: fresh, Build: prop., Eyes: blue, Ht.: 5'1 1/2", Hair: bro., Marks: Wound scar rt. side of face., M.O., etc.: Begs in residential areas, and breaks into houses he finds unoccupied.
Thomas Boyd
Dapper Thomas Boyd also used the name "Coyne" as an alias. He was a carpenter, born in 1900. He had scars on his top lip, right forearm, right wrist and left breast. Police said he associated with "all class of thieves".
Name: BOYD, Thomas, Aliases: Coyne, Born: 1900, Trade: Carpenter, Comp.: fresh, Build: Prop., Eyes: blue, Ht.: 5'10 1/2", Hair: brown, Marks: Scars top lip, rt. upper &forearm, rt. wrist, left breast., M.O., etc.: Housebreaking, Larceny & Receiving. Uses various methods of entry. Associates with all classes of thieves.
James Lowrie
Born in 1892, James Lowrie also had an alias "Johnstone" and was known as the "Sunderland Kid". A labourer he had a scar on his back and right hand. He was known for stealing from people, robbery and was considered an expert pickpocket.
Name: LOWRIE James, Aliases: Johnstone, "Sunderland Kid", Born: 1892, Trade: Labourer, Comp.: fresh, Build: prop., Eyes: blue, Ht. : 5'6", Hair: brown, Marks: Tatt. dots web lt. hand, Scar bk. rt. hand, M.O. etc: Larceny from person, and Robbery. An expert pickpocket. Associates with all classes of pickpocket.
James Casey
James Casey, pictured here in November 1931, was born in 1906. He was a gardener who specialised in "various forms of larceny".
Name: CASEY James, Born: 1906, Trade: Gardener, Comp.: fresh, Build: slim, Eyes: grey, Ht.: 5'7", Hair: ginger, Marks: Heart, clasped hands, True Love, Evelyn rt. forearm., M.O., etc.: Specialises in various classes of larceny. Associate 402.
John Dodgson
Scruffy-looking John Dodgson was a miner. Born in 1902 his crimes were ones of larceny and fraud. A general thief, police described him as a "bad character".
Name: DODGSON John, Born: 1902, Trade: Miner, Comp.: fresh, Build: prop., Eyes: brown, Ht.: 5'5", Hair: grey, Marks: Extensively tattooed forearms and hands., M.O., etc.: Larceny and False Pretences. A general thief and bad character. Works alone.
Albert Dick
Born in 1911 Albert Dick was a labourer and a "general all round thief & safebreaker". He associated with other thieves.
Name: DICK Albert, Born: 1911, Trade: Labourer, Comp: fresh, Build: prop., Eyes: blue, Ht: 5'6", Hair: dk.br., M.O., etc.: A general all round thief & safebreaker. Associates with all classes of thieves.
Thomas Giles
Thomas Giles, born 1890 he was a labourer and broke into houses. He also had convictions for larceny of metal, counterfeit coins and larceny from vehicles.
Name: GILES Thomas, Aliases: Thomas O'Malley, "Doggy". Born: 1890, Trade: Labourer, Comp.: fresh, Build: prop., Eyes: blue, Ht.: 5'6", Hair: brown, Marks: Scars on left fr. head and rt. knee. Tatt. on left arm., M.O., etc.: Housebreaker. Also convictions for larceny of metal, Uttering counterfeit coins and larceny from vehicles. Breaks window. Associates 203, 355, 1216, 1094, 433.
Anyone else notice how short all these guys were?
I did! They are all shorter than me =)
Good catch..... On dude was 5' 10 1/2 " tall :-)
Yes! I was just about to comment on this. Stay away from short guys ~
why
I’m fascinated they were all (except one) were shorter than 5’6”.
people were not tall back then--and did not have proper nutrition
Most would have come from poorer homes, just as modern petty criminals do. Modern petty criminals are probably not all that tall either.
I had no idea it was standard to do the side facing "with hat" mug shots
I guess if you were a police officer, being able to identify your man with a hat on in the street would be a helpful thing. Does seem strange to use these days though!
I think it was logical because men were rarely seen in public without their hat on, so a bareheaded photo wouldn't be much help.
These faces tell of hard lives in a hard world. Some of the colorizations really look like paintings! I do wish the artist had toned it down on the blue eyes, though. Rarely are eyes that blue- grey and light brown are more common, especially when seen from any distance. It just took me out of the moment. There’s also been an over representation of blue eyes in media for a long time. I happened to have blue eyes myself and they’re actually more grey than anything.
Had to go back an take a second look. There's only one without blue eyes...
This comment has been deleted.
The cards described them all as blue eyes, but yes, there are shades of blue, and these are all pretty similar, and vivid.
I think the blue eyes might have to do with the fact that these men were Irish, and therefore more genetically likely to have blue eyes. But, I will agree they are represented as piercingly blue here.
I apologize...upon further reading, these mugshots are taken from England., not Ireland.
I guess knife-fighting was commonplace back then.
Very likely that some of them were WW1 veterans.
That would explain a lot of the scars.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Yeah, one guy had a scar. Knife fighting must've been rampant.
When even thieves wore ties.
Bunch of short guys back in the day.
Thank you! One thing that stood out to me is how short many of these people were. Malnourishent does a number on the body.
The prisons are always full of the poor/disadvantaged.
Poor roots! No chance stepping up the ladder.
I love how they are dressed! I know that sounds weird, but, they aren't in t-shirts. I know that stuff didn't exist then, but to put on a tie, look presentable, just makes me smile within.
Interesting how most of them were quite short. What a big difference nutrition can make over a few generations.
even short, there were a couple of guys in there that are pretty good looking..
I love how almost all of them have on a shirt and tie.
This is what a 1930 dating app interface would look like
These are fascinating - and they're not Disney Princesses!
Whatever the crime it was probably James or Thomas.
wow lots of scars
Interesting collection. I appreciate the hard work that must go into colourising black amd white photos, although I prefer their authenticity.
So I assume all thieves in this era were height challenged ?
They most likely grew up in poverty and had poor nutrition both prenatally and in childhood. One of them has the classic Fetal Alchohol features.
They all had great hair!
like crows nests
So it would seem that blue eyed men are more likely to be criminals.
complexion: fresh. hmmmm... very curious re:POC labeling
The eye colour is still confusing as very bright.
The best white elephant gift I ever had to give for a Christmas party was mug shots of the gangsters like those colorized in this post. Those puppies got traded at least four times. And my brother loved his famous rabbis shot glasses. I may be weird but I know how weird everybody else is and uses the excuse that I'm responsible for the ownership of goofy stuff.
Hmm. My post got deleted...wonder why? To repeat.....”colorizing” old photos with a computer is NOT ART.
Why not? I think they look great!
Scott Plumer what
Scott Plumer no
Scott Plumer -
why do all have blus eyes?
they all have blue/grey/green eyes xD
This comment has been deleted.
Violent crime is actually far less prevalent today than it was about 100-140 years ago
Past crimes were just as brutal :') Scum of the earth humans have always been very creative killers. Lets not forget surveillance wasn't as prevalent in the past so I'm sure many got away with the crimes.
And these were the crimes they were convicted of--not suspected of
The surveillance angle is a very good point there.
old times when crime had class!! almost all of them were a tie lol
I thought they were humans.
Anyone else notice how short all these guys were?
I did! They are all shorter than me =)
Good catch..... On dude was 5' 10 1/2 " tall :-)
Yes! I was just about to comment on this. Stay away from short guys ~
why
I’m fascinated they were all (except one) were shorter than 5’6”.
people were not tall back then--and did not have proper nutrition
Most would have come from poorer homes, just as modern petty criminals do. Modern petty criminals are probably not all that tall either.
I had no idea it was standard to do the side facing "with hat" mug shots
I guess if you were a police officer, being able to identify your man with a hat on in the street would be a helpful thing. Does seem strange to use these days though!
I think it was logical because men were rarely seen in public without their hat on, so a bareheaded photo wouldn't be much help.
These faces tell of hard lives in a hard world. Some of the colorizations really look like paintings! I do wish the artist had toned it down on the blue eyes, though. Rarely are eyes that blue- grey and light brown are more common, especially when seen from any distance. It just took me out of the moment. There’s also been an over representation of blue eyes in media for a long time. I happened to have blue eyes myself and they’re actually more grey than anything.
Had to go back an take a second look. There's only one without blue eyes...
This comment has been deleted.
The cards described them all as blue eyes, but yes, there are shades of blue, and these are all pretty similar, and vivid.
I think the blue eyes might have to do with the fact that these men were Irish, and therefore more genetically likely to have blue eyes. But, I will agree they are represented as piercingly blue here.
I apologize...upon further reading, these mugshots are taken from England., not Ireland.
I guess knife-fighting was commonplace back then.
Very likely that some of them were WW1 veterans.
That would explain a lot of the scars.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Yeah, one guy had a scar. Knife fighting must've been rampant.
When even thieves wore ties.
Bunch of short guys back in the day.
Thank you! One thing that stood out to me is how short many of these people were. Malnourishent does a number on the body.
The prisons are always full of the poor/disadvantaged.
Poor roots! No chance stepping up the ladder.
I love how they are dressed! I know that sounds weird, but, they aren't in t-shirts. I know that stuff didn't exist then, but to put on a tie, look presentable, just makes me smile within.
Interesting how most of them were quite short. What a big difference nutrition can make over a few generations.
even short, there were a couple of guys in there that are pretty good looking..
I love how almost all of them have on a shirt and tie.
This is what a 1930 dating app interface would look like
These are fascinating - and they're not Disney Princesses!
Whatever the crime it was probably James or Thomas.
wow lots of scars
Interesting collection. I appreciate the hard work that must go into colourising black amd white photos, although I prefer their authenticity.
So I assume all thieves in this era were height challenged ?
They most likely grew up in poverty and had poor nutrition both prenatally and in childhood. One of them has the classic Fetal Alchohol features.
They all had great hair!
like crows nests
So it would seem that blue eyed men are more likely to be criminals.
complexion: fresh. hmmmm... very curious re:POC labeling
The eye colour is still confusing as very bright.
The best white elephant gift I ever had to give for a Christmas party was mug shots of the gangsters like those colorized in this post. Those puppies got traded at least four times. And my brother loved his famous rabbis shot glasses. I may be weird but I know how weird everybody else is and uses the excuse that I'm responsible for the ownership of goofy stuff.
Hmm. My post got deleted...wonder why? To repeat.....”colorizing” old photos with a computer is NOT ART.
Why not? I think they look great!
Scott Plumer what
Scott Plumer no
Scott Plumer -
why do all have blus eyes?
they all have blue/grey/green eyes xD
This comment has been deleted.
Violent crime is actually far less prevalent today than it was about 100-140 years ago
Past crimes were just as brutal :') Scum of the earth humans have always been very creative killers. Lets not forget surveillance wasn't as prevalent in the past so I'm sure many got away with the crimes.
And these were the crimes they were convicted of--not suspected of
The surveillance angle is a very good point there.
old times when crime had class!! almost all of them were a tie lol
I thought they were humans.