Gerald McCluskey, “Carrying Concealed Weapons”, 10 February 1949
Small Town Noir documents vintage mugshots that were retrieved in New Castle, Pennsylvania, after being discarded by the police in the late 1990s.
Curated by Edinburg-based Diarmid Mogg, the website pairs each mugshot, taken from the 1930s to 1950s, with stories that were taken from the archives of New Castle’s local newspaper, ‘New Castle News’.
Mogg’s efforts resulted in an intriguing gallery of photos that not only gave us the back stories of these strangers—we too were given a glimpse of old Pennsylvanian life.
Take a look at a selection of mugshots below, or head to the website to read more about the stories behind them.
Anna Mae Craven, “Dis Conduct”, 14 July 1946
Ernest Pokersnik, “B E Larceny”, 7 May 1946
Meyer Shussett, “Suspicion”, 14 January 1933
James Dagres, “B & E”, 28 April 1934
Lee Render, “Window Peeper”, 24 September 1945
[via Neatorama, Images via Small Town Noir]