Fingerprint Identification (3 results)

Condition: New.

Fingerprint instruction pamphlet issued by J. Edgar Hoover's Division of Investigation during the period in which the federal government consolidated centralized criminal identification systems and standardized fingerprint evidence for nationwide police use. Published one year before the Division formally became the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the pamphlet sets out procedures for fingerprinting "living and deceased individuals," latent print recovery, and "court decisions" governing evidentiary admissibility, documenting how fingerprint analysis moved from specialized police practice into routine bureaucratic administration and courtroom procedure during the early New Deal period. The manual directly addresses cooperation between local departments and the federal Identification Unit, establishing fingerprint exchange as a coordinated national law-enforcement system rather than an isolated municipal technique. Internal illustrations include completed fingerprint classification cards, enlarged ridge-pattern studies, and procedural demonstrations showing the taking of rolled impressions for permanent criminal records. Fingerprints: Fingerprinting Living and Deceased Individuals + Latent Fingerprints + Court Decisions. U.S. Department of Justice, Division of Investigation. Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1934. Original printed wrappers. 8vo. 28 pages. The title page bears the seal of the Department of Justice and identifies the publication as a Division of Investigation manual issued before the agency's 1935 renaming as the FBI. Interior text instructs officers on the preparation of standardized 8 x 8 inch fingerprint cards and warns that "carelessness" in taking impressions may prevent "proper classification." A reproduced criminal history and fingerprint form labeled "Division of Investigation U.S. Department of Justice" appears alongside procedural discussions of latent print comparison and evidentiary handling. The front wrapper bears a small typed label reading "Federal Building," suggesting institutional retention or use within a government office environment. The pamphlet belongs to the period when Hoover's Identification Division rapidly expanded into one of the largest centralized repositories of fingerprint records in the world, linking municipal police departments, prisons, sheriffs' offices, and federal investigators through standardized filing and exchange procedures. Its inclusion of "Court Decisions" alongside practical fingerprint instruction preserves the simultaneous legal and administrative consolidation of fingerprint evidence in American criminal prosecutions during the 1930s. Light toning; interior generally clean and complete. Overall good condition.

Fingerprint identification archive documenting the institutional consolidation of forensic policing in the United States and Britain during the interwar and World War II period. The grouping centers on the expansion of fingerprint classification systems under J. Edgar Hoover's Division of Investigation and parallel efforts by police instructors and forensic specialists to standardize latent print analysis, courtroom admissibility, and criminal identification procedures. Federal publications including The Work and Functions of the Division of Investigation (1934) and the Division's instructional pamphlet Fingerprints establish how fingerprint records were integrated into national policing networks, while J. H. Duncan's An Introduction to Fingerprints and T. G. Cooke's Finger Prints Secret Service Crime Detection trace the spread of fingerprint instruction into British constabulary training and private forensic education. The archive documents fingerprinting not as an abstract forensic science but as a coordinated administrative system linking police departments, centralized identification bureaus, crime laboratories, and courts through standardized classification and evidentiary procedures. Archive of 4 printed works published between 1934 and 1942, consisting of two United States Department of Justice Division of Investigation publications, one Constabulary instructional manual, and one privately issued American forensic training text. [1] Cooke, T. G. Finger Prints Secret Service Crime Detection. Chicago: Finger Print Publishing Association, 1930. Second edition. Blue cloth binding. Cooke identifies himself on the title page as former Director and Official Editor of the International Association for Identification, situating the work within the principal professional organization for fingerprint examiners in the United States. The preface rejects the popular "master sleuth" mythology of detective fiction and instead argues that secret service methods depend upon "facts which are easily mastered by any normal person of average intelligence, once you know the ropes." A frontispiece portrait captioned "T. G. Cooke, Finger Print Expert" precedes a discussion of latent print work, criminal identification, and practical investigative method. [2]Hoover, John Edgar, Director. The Work and Functions of the Division of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice. Washington, D.C.: Published for the Information of Law-Enforcement Officials and Agencies, May 1, 1934. Stapled blue wrappers. The introductory statement declares that "all Special Agents in the field must work in close cooperation with police officials in their respective jurisdictions" and notes that "The Identification Unit is at your service every day of the year." The pamphlet outlines investigative, fingerprint identification, and technical laboratory operations within the Division of Investigation during the early Hoover period, immediately preceding the agency's formal renaming as the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1935. A small typed label reading "Federal Building" appears at the head of the front wrapper. [3] United States Department of Justice, Division of Investigation. Fingerprints: Fingerprinting Living and Deceased Individuals + Latent Fingerprints + Court Decisions. Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1934. Printed wrappers. Issued the same year as the broader Division of Investigation administrative manual, this publication formalizes fingerprint collection and evidentiary procedure for police use. The title page explicitly links latent fingerprint analysis with "Court Decisions," documenting the increasing legal codification of fingerprint evidence in American criminal prosecutions during the 1930s. Sections address fingerprinting of living and deceased persons, latent print recovery, and evidentiary standards required for courtroom acceptance. [4] Duncan, J. H. An Introduction to Fingerprints. London: Butterworth & Co. (Publishers), Ltd., 1942. Original printed wrappers. Duncan is identified as Chief Inspector of the Lancashire Constabulary, placing the work within wartime British police instruction. The title page lists Butterworth distribution offices across Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, and Africa, documenting the circulation of fingerprint training literature through imperial policing networks during World War II. The manual presents introductory classification and identification procedures intended for police instruction and practical investigative application. The archive spans the period in which fingerprint identification became embedded within centralized criminal record systems and modern forensic administration. Hoover's Division of Investigation expanded its Identification Division into one of the largest repositories of criminal fingerprint records in the world, while organizations such as the International Association for Identification promoted standardized professional training and evidentiary practice across local and national jurisdictions. The pairing of federal instructional pamphlets with British constabulary and private forensic manuals preserves the convergence of bureaucratic policing, courtroom procedure, and scientific criminal identification across the English-speaking world during the 1930s and 1940s. Moderate edge wear, toning, and handling wear throughout; Cooke in blue cloth with light spotting and rubbing; Duncan with minor discoloration and edge wear to wrappers; federal pamphlets with expected wear from institutional use. Overall good condition.