Introduction
The history of photography is traced back to the beginning of the 19th century when Joseph Nicéphore Niépce introduced the first permanent photograph to the world. Since that moment, multiple attempts have been made to improve the sphere of photography, including the invention of the daguerreotype and the contributions of William Henry Fox Talbot to photographic processes.
The name Alphonse Bertillon can also be found in the list of the founding fathers of photography. This French scientist was the author of a specific anthropometry system, with the help of which the first physical measurements were applied to an identification system (Teitelbaum, 2020). Bertillon officially standardized a common mugshot that modern police officers use to add a person under arrest to the system at the end of the 1800s. This paper examines Alphonse Bertillon’s life and professional achievements to better understand the conditions under which meaningful photographic changes occurred. The Bertillon system is a unique technique that helps identify suspects and criminals, and its progress was related to its creator’s personal and professional skills.
Biography
Today, Bertillon is recognized as a well-known French researcher and police officer who promoted an anthropometric approach to photography. Still, some details from his childhood remain unknown. Alphonse Bertillon was born in 1853 to a family of medical statisticians, Louis Bertillon, whose interdisciplinary work became the main source of inspiration (Carlton, 2021).
In his childhood and adolescence, he did not demonstrate great results, and he was even expelled from school because of his disruptive behavior and unwillingness to follow orders (Carlton, 2021). At the age of 22, he joined the French army, but when he returned home, he did not have a higher education and could not find a good job. As a result, his father helped the young man find employment and found a place at the Prefecture of Police.
Since 1879, Bertillon worked as a low-level clerk in a Parisian police station (Carlton, 2021). Not much information is now available about his personal life and family, and most sources focus on his professional achievements. Bertillon became one of the fathers of forensic science, and he died at the age of 60 in Paris.
Forensic Science and Criminal Identification
Modern police departments and criminologists use fingerprinting to quickly examine crime scenes and find suspects. However, in the middle of the 1800s, police were in a mess because of the decision to use a new photography technique and keep track of criminals (Carlton, 2021). It was not difficult to take photos of people and gather extensive collections, also known as “rouges’ galleries,” for analysis and comparison (Miller, 2020). However, when the number of photos reached more than 80,000, and more than five million hand-written files were stored in one Prefecture of Police department in 1879, dealing with multiple cases became challenging (Carlton, 2021). In addition, the investigation of Joseph Reibel’s murder proved that photos from crime scenes might contain questionable issues.
Bertillon noticed white marks on the glass and wanted to examine the evidence within the Anthropometric Service (Teitelbaum, 2020). However, one or two photos made it difficult to get a good image of a crime scene and continue the analysis. A better way to manage information and identify people quickly was necessary.
At that moment, improvements in police work were a common theme for many researchers and scientists across the globe. In England, Francis Galton initiated his investigation of composite portraits and the implementation of a fingerprint classification system (Miller, 2020). Still, despite his respect for this person, Bertillon admitted that fingerprints did not have the required value, and it was impossible to solve a major case with the help of fingerprints only (Teitelbaum, 2020).
Alphonse Bertillon applied the human measurement approach and concluded that while individuals could change their names and appearances, they could not have similar physical measurements. He introduced anthropometry to maintain detailed information about criminals and offered a camera for criminal identification (Teitelbaum, 2020). During his work on Reibel’s case, Bertillon used several backgrounds, lights, and camera angles, decreased the number of suspects from 300,000 to 90,000, and identified the criminal (Henri Scheffer) in three hours (Teitelbaum, 2020). He called this method “Bertillonage” – a combination of anthropometric measurements with front and side profile photographs, which people know as mug shots today.
Bertillon System
It is necessary to admit that Bertillon was not the pioneer in photography. Still, he was one of the first police officers who found it beneficial to use several techniques for the same purpose. The camera in isolation had its advantages; still, the organization of all records was devastating. In 1885, Bertillon’s approach helped underline the worth of individuality “only in relation to others” (Miller, 2020, p. 15). Its essence was to gather 11 critical measurements, including head circumference (breadth and length), the left foot length, the middle finger length, and arm span (Carlton, 2021).
At the same time, Bertillon underlined the importance of photos being appropriately accompanied by physical characteristics. Mug shots were promoted: a camera on a high tripod was established to take pictures of criminals with front and side views. Soon, a popular street slang, “smile for the Bertillon studio,” emerged for getting arrested (Carlton, 2021). The Bertillon measurement system was a novel approach to using photography in forensic science and criminology, and more attention was paid to proving its credibility.
Impact and Contributions
Despite the success of several investigation cases with the Bertillon approach, some people put its quality and appropriateness under question. In 1903, the misidentification of Will and William West based on the incompetence of people who took measurements provoked the decline of the offered system (Teitelbaum, 2020). In addition to professionally trained technicians, new limitations were soon discovered, focusing on the specifics of juvenile offenders or older suspects, whose measurements changed with time (Carlton, 2021).
Thus, most of Bertillon’s ideas were rejected, but his name was added to the history of photography. Even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle recognized these contributions in one of his stories about Sherlock Holmes, calling the latter “the second highest expert in Europe,” honoring the work of Bertillon (Carlton, 2021). Such words could be considered as high-level gratitude for the work of an ordinary police officer.
Conclusion
In general, Alphonse Bertillon’s life and work must be recognized in the history of photography and criminology, regardless of the decline of his approach. This person proved that photos and personal information based on physical measurements could help solve cases and identify criminals in the system. Although the police officer did not have a higher education and broke some rules at school, his latest achievements showed that personal involvement and passion in the chosen profession played an important role. Bertillon did not invent photography or take the first photo. Still, his system based on anthropometry made him one of the founding fathers of photography.
References
Carlton, G. (2021). Meet Alphonse Bertillon, the brilliant French detective who revolutionized police work. All That Interesting. Web.
Miller, S. (2020). Contemporary photography and theory: Concepts and debates. Routledge.
Teitelbaum, J. (2020). Alphonse Bertillon, whose legacy as a pioneer in criminal identification was undone by fingerprinting, may have solved the world’s first fingerprint murder case. Forensic Science Review, 32(1), 14-15.