Five Cool Artifacts in the Collections of the National Law Enforcement Museum

We have so many interesting objects in our collections. Here are five I've selected, listed in no particular order.

Photograph, ca. 1960. 2008.40.26. Collection of the NLEM, Washington, D.C. This image was probably used in a ca. 1960s FBI training session or lecture to illustrate the history of the use of fingerprinting in law enforcement.

1) “West Brothers” – Photograph, 1903. A case of mistaken identity at Leavenworth. The early years of the 20th century witnessed a transition from the Bertillon Measurement system, a process of identifying criminals based on measurement of anthropomorphic characteristics such as skull, arm, and leg measurements, as well as recording marks on the body, to the acceptance of fingerprints as unique identifiers of individuals.

The case of the “West Brothers” is particularly illustrative of the reliability of fingerprinting over Bertillon Measurements. In 1903, Will West was committed to the penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas, where he was photographed and measured using Bertillon methods. Will West’s measurements were found to be almost identical to a criminal at the same penitentiary named William West, who was committed for murder in 1901 and was serving a life sentence. Furthermore, their photographs showed the two men to bear a close physical resemblance to one another, although it was not clear that they were even related. In the ensuing confusion when the identities of the two men were being confirmed, their fingerprints conclusively identified them and demonstrated clearly that the adoption of a fingerprint identification system was more reliable than the older Bertillon method.

2) Robocop 2 suit, 1990 (image coming soon). Just because it’s Robocop…and cool. This sci-fi action film is a sequel to the 1987 movie Robocop, a cinematic vision of law enforcement set in the near future. The Robocop saga is based on the tale of a law enforcement officer, played by actor Peter Weller, who was killed then resurrected as a cyborg entity programmed to fight crime. According to a 2002 Dutch-language interview with director Paul Verhoeven, the Robocop character was based on comic book action hero Judge Dredd and was inspired by the futuristic film Blade Runner. The successful Robocop franchise includes two sequels, branded merchandise, an animated television series, and comic book adaptations.

Identi-Kit, Model II, Smith and Wesson, ca. 1976. 2009.4.18. Collection of the NLEM, Washington, D.C. Composite images created from many different facial components were assembled by hand to produce an image of a criminal suspect.

A composite image created from randomly selected foils from the 1976 Identi-Kit Model II. Do you know who this is?

3) Identi-Kit Model II, Smith and Wesson, 1976. A reminder that things weren't always as easy as they are today. The Identi-Kit Model II is the second iteration of a composite facial feature reconstruction process used by police departments to help identify criminal suspects. First produced in 1959, the original Identi-Kit consisted of hand drawn facial feature components which were mounted on transparencies called “foils.” Individual foils were layered atop one another to create a face, which was then mechanically copied and circulated to aid in suspect identification. The Identi-Kit in the NLEM collection is the second version, which was developed in 1976 and contains photographic, rather than hand-drawn, facial features mounted on foils. In 1989, the first software version, Identi-Kit Model III, was introduced and its Internet-based use continues today by law enforcement agencies.

Lunch box, Adam-12, ca. 1973. 2007.43.163. Collection of the NLEM, Washington, D.C.

4) Lunchbox, Adam-12, 1973. People of a certain age will remember not only the television show Adam-12, but also the status of carrying a lunch box with colorful depictions of these fictional law enforcement heroes to school. Jack Webb, of Dragnet fame, produced this popular television series, which ran from 1968 to 1975. The show was based on the experiences of Los Angeles Police Department officers and strove “for absolute authenticity as far as police technique and procedure is concerned.” Starring Kent McCord as Officer Jim Reed and Martin Milner as Officer Pete Malloy, the worn metal lunch box depicts exciting scenes from the show: apprehending dangerous criminals in dark alleys, the tension of speeding toward a call, and community-friendly interactions with children and puppies. The lunchbox was originally produced with a matching thermos, missing from the artifact in the NLEM collection.

Traffix Accident Reporting Kit, Forbes Stamp Company, unknown date. 2008.26.15. Collection of the NLEM, Washington, D.C.

5) Forbes Traffix Handy Accident Reporting Kit, unknown date. This unique kit contains 18 wooden and rubber stamps with a variety of vehicle illustrations, including cars, trucks, bicycles, and various combinations of these vehicles, presumably to illustrate traffic accident situations for reporting purposes. This intriguing artifact is missing documentation and the ink pad, and may date from before 1940. The kit is, however, accompanied by a c. 1960 instruction booklet, published by the Traffic Institute of Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, about how to use traffic template kits, although it is not clear that the Forbes kit and the booklet are related. Research still needs to be completed on this artifact, and it will be fun to track down the history of this kit and its manufacturer, the Forbes Stamp Company. If you have any information about the Forbes Traffix Handy Accident Reporting Kit, or about the Forbes Stamp Company, please contact the Museum.

Making Connections with the NLEM Collection

Museums often collect individual objects because they are important in and of themselves. Sometimes, however, we are able to make connections among various items and are able to tell a broader story. That has happened with a number of items acquired by the National Law Enforcement Museum over the last four years.

In 2006, the Museum acquired six letters written in 1896 by the President of the New York City Board of Police Commissioners, Theodore Roosevelt.

We were interested in these letters because Roosevelt wrote, “If there is anything that I love more than foot ball [sic] it is civil service reform.” (Pictured at right: Letter, Oct. 30, 1896. 2006.282.1. Collection of the NLEM, Washington, DC.) Most people know about Roosevelt because of his Rough Riders during the Spanish American War, and of course, because he was the 26th president of the United States (1901-1909). But these letters also talk about Roosevelt’s interest in reform while heading up one of the most important police departments in the country, as well as the professionalization of law enforcement in the late 19th century.

Also in 2006, we acquired an 1884 cartoon drawn by one of the most important political cartoonists in the 19th century, Thomas Nast. We acquired it because it depicted a law enforcement officer.

Political cartoon, Harper's Weekly, May 10, 1884. 2006.406.36. Collection of the NLEM, Washington, DC.

On receiving the print, we discovered that it was not really a policeman, but a cartoon using a policeman to illustrate Theodore Roosevelt working to improve the governance of New York City by attempting to rid it of its Democratic political machine known as Tammany Hall. Read more about Roosevelt’s reform efforts in NYC.

This cartoon, published in May 1884, shows Governor Grover Cleveland sitting in the window, as Roosevelt attempts to throw out the two political “machines” of the Democratic Party in New York, Tammany Hall and Irving Hall. We need to conduct more research to identify the men labeled as Tammany Hall and Irving Hall.

Roosevelt’s reform work was the beginning of a career in political reform efforts starting in the 1880s, continuing under his tenure on the Board of Police Commissioners in the 1890s, and completed as President of the United States.

What other materials have we acquired that relate to Roosevelt? Try accessing our online catalog and search for “Theodore Roosevelt” and “police” and see what you find!

Bringing the Museum Into Your Home: The NLEM’s Online Catalog

The National Law Enforcement Museum is one of only a few museums that has decided to catalog ALL of its collections—from books, manuscripts, and photographs to oral histories and three-dimensional artifacts—in one database, thus allowing access to all kinds of information about similar materials held by the Museum. In addition, because of rapid changes in technology, the Museum’s catalog will provide access to images, electronic files, video, and other kinds of materials usually only seen in-house. By joining forces with other international online catalogs, the NLEM truly will be a national museum by reaching a broad audience of individuals interested in law enforcement history who might not otherwise know that the NLEM exists.

The Museum’s catalog is now live. We have over 700 books and over 145 oral histories from former Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation now available, and we have an ambitious plan to have complete information—from the history of an object, a photograph of it, and other information that we may have—about the majority of our collection (books, oral histories, photographs, uniforms, badges, etc.) online by the end of 2011.

What kinds of “stuff” does a Museum have? Could we help you identify something that you’ve had in the family for years? The Museum’s catalog might be able to help you answer those questions. It is keyword searchable, so you can type in the words you think might be related to an item. If you want to see what we have related to wanted posters, type those words in and you will see a list of books on wanted posters, as well as historical wanted posters from John Dillinger to Patty Hearst. If you are interested in the Barbara Mackle kidnapping, type in those words—you'll get “hits” on oral histories and a book about the kidnapping. We also have prepared some “canned” searches specifically for the FBI oral histories. We intend to add similar searches for other important topics as well, as we add more of our artifact information to the catalog.

Take a look—the direct link is http://research.nlem.org/.

We would love to hear what you think.