#CMU150
LightNews LightNews
mpsheritage.bsky.social
150 in ten days' time, the Crime Museum may not have started out as an archive, but did originate in record-keeping of criminals' belongings, from 1870 kept in trust for the term of their sentence & then returned - other than the instruments of crime, naturally! #ArchiveBeginnings #Archive30 #CMU150
A woman in a long skirt sits at a table bearing a large ledger and instruments of crime such as burglars' tools, with three men, a woman and a child standing on the other side of the table. In the room around them pistols, weapons and other tools are attached to the walls on open display, with death masks on a high shelf above them. At the top, close-ups of the pistol used by Edward Oxford in his attempt to assassinate Queen Victoria, a said of items captioned as "The property of a distinguished prisoner", and what looks like a wooden box with a plunger entitled "Prof. Zandevesto's fortune telling machine". Overall caption is "The Criminal Museum at the Convict Office, Metropolitan Police Department, Scotland-Yard".
April 2, 2025 at 1:55 PM
mpsheritage.bsky.social
As well as our public gallery, we create displays in Met buildings such as the Peel Centre in Hendon. Today we start installing one at New Scotland Yard, where our bust of Sir Robert Peel can be seen in his glass box by the main entrance 24-7! #ArchivesToday #Archive30 #CMU150
Our new display at New Scotland Yard includes prisoner record sheets like this one for 20-year-old Peckham-born Percy Moore. A square piece of paper with information on distinctive marks on the subject's body, his height, six other measurements (such as the length and breadth of his head), his name, aliases, birthdate and sentencing details (18 months for forgery and larceny). At the top right is a photograph of the bare-headed Moore in a suit and elaborate bow tie holding both hands palm down on his chest (to show if he had any fingers missing) with a chalked tag of the number '2013' on his shoulder. Behind him a mirror captures his profile and another chalked board gives his name.
April 7, 2025 at 3:18 PM