Shoplifters of the Baltimore Area

Coming up this week at a photographs and photobooks auction at Swann Galleries are four lots of mugshot cards and albums from the collection of Mark Michaelson, editor of the 2009 book, Least Wanted. The intriguing item seen here is a wooden drawer with 46 catalogued mugshots of (mostly) female shoplifters in the Baltimore/D.C. area from 1936-1947. Each small silver print contains a typed caption describing the offender's age, physical characteristics, location, and crime. The estimate is $1,500-2,500.