Mugshots of gangsters who ruled Scotland's toughest streets in the early 1900s have been unearthed, offering a rare glimpse into the criminal underworld of the time. The photographs, taken from the Criminal Photographs Register 1903-1914 at the Glasgow City Archives in the Mitchell Library, include teenage housebreakers and knife-wielding enforcers, as well as skilled criminals jailed for forgery and safe-blowing.
Police Techniques of the Era
Police would get the criminals to show their hands, as many had lost fingers. Some of the men were posed beside a mirror to capture their profiles and save expensive camera film.
Teenage Housebreakers
Arthur Morrison (alias James Brown), 16, and Edward Gallacher (alias Thomas Brown), 15, were both newsboys from Glasgow and presumably brothers. They were jailed for four days on March 7, 1905, for theft by housebreaking. Both teenagers were described as “growing” with James having a cut on the left side of his head and Thomas having a mark on the back of his head and a cross tattoo on his right forearm.
Skilled Criminals and Repeat Offenders
Clerk John Duffy, 21, from Glasgow, was sent down on September 1, 1908, for pick-pocketing following previous stints in prison after picking pockets in Cambuslang and Dumbarton. He was 5ft 5in and had a fresh complexion, hazel eyes and brown hair.
Joseph Wilson (alias Scott), 23, a labourer from Glasgow, was imprisoned for a year on March 9, 1904, for theft and safebreaking. He was 5ft 5in with dark brown eyes and dark hair. He had an anchor tattooed on his left arm, two cut marks on his eyebrow and a dimple on his chin.
Richard McGowan, 31, a pipe mender from Glasgow, was jailed on July 4, 1910, for embezzlement and theft of watches. He was 5ft 7in with hazel eyes and brown hair. He had a bust of a lady tattooed on his right forearm and the stars and stripes on his left.
Labourer William Ponsonby, 22, of Dumbarton, was jailed for 60 days on May 19, 1909, for theft by house-breaking. He was 5ft 8.5in and had blue eyes and brown hair. He had several tattoos including a Union Jack, a naked woman and a cross and tombstone in memory of his mother.
Alfred Sutherland (alias James Stanley), 20, an ex-soldier from Hawick, was sent down on July 12, 1904, for housebreaking, forgery and stealing. He was 5ft 3in, had a fair complexion, great eyes and fair hair. He had one tattoo - clasped hands surrounded by the rising sun. He had already done 30-day and three-month stints in prison.
George Ewart, 32, a sailmaker from Wales, was jailed for four months on November 3, 1903 for theft. He was described as being 5ft 7.5in with a fair complexion, grey eyes and brown hair.
