A new blog devoted to a fascinating collection of criminal ‘mugshots’ held by Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives has been launched.
Written by City Archivist, Phil Astley, ‘Criminal Portraits’ features images found in the ‘Register of Returned Convicts for Aberdeen’ covering 1869 to 1939 and a much larger album containing 930 images taken at HM General Prison Perth.
A small selection of the images have previously been included in exhibitions for the ‘Granite Noir’ crime writing festival in 2019 and 2020, which takes place in Aberdeen during February. The incredible response to these images from the public convinced the organisers that they deserved a wider audience.