Unique Derby police album

Aim

We want to buy this amazing album (1890-1920) of photos of people in police custody so we can make it available for everyone to research.

A criminal portrait album created by the Derby police between 1890 and 1920 has come up for auction.  We have just a week to raise the money to buy it so that we can keep it in the county and make it freely available for everyone to use and enjoy.

Criminal portrait albums

In 1871, a law was passed that required police to take a photograph of every person they arrested.  These photographs were pasted into special albums that also recorded physical characteristics and criminal histories.  The information these albums contain is unique - if your ancestor was arrested, not only can you see their photograph, but you know their hair and eye colour, and even what moles, scars and tattoos they had!

Why do we want to buy this album?

We hold one other similar portrait album for Chesterfield in the Derbyshire Constabulary archive.  Before this Derby album came up for auction, we thought all the others had been destroyed, so it's really exciting to know that this album survives.  We want to bring this album back home to be reunited with the Derbyshire Constabulary archive. 

What makes this album particularly special are the portraits of Alice Wheeldon, her daughter Winnie, and son-in-law Alfred Mason, who were convicted in 1917 of conspiring to murder the prime minister, David Lloyd George.  Alice Wheeldon and her family were socialists who supported the women’s suffrage movement and conscientious objection in the First World War.  Their conviction was considered by many at the time to be based on their political views rather than real evidence and Alice Wheeldon is now considered a Derby hero, commemorated by a blue plaque and a star in Derby’s ‘Walk of Fame’.  You can find out more about Alice's amazing story and the campaign to clear her name on the website set up by her descendants. The only known photographs of Alice in the public domain are newspaper pictures, so the photographs of her and her family in this album are unique.

What will we do with the album if we're successful?

We will, of course, make sure the album is well looked after in our special archive stores and our conservators will assess it to see whether it needs any repairs, and will make a box for it to keep it safe.  We'll also digitise the album and transcribe it with the help of volunteers, so that it will be easy for anyone to search it for whatever information they're looking for.  A copy of the digital images and transcription will be held at Derby Local Studies and Family History Library, so the people of Derby have easy access to it.

Donate now

If you agree that this fantastic album should be available for everyone to see, then please donate now to help us prevent it disappearing back into private hands. 

This project closed unsuccessfully on 27th October 2022