Vintage Mugshots of Victorian Child Offenders Jailed for Stealing Items for Christmas Day

Thomas Thompson, 14, was given 21 days hard labor at Wandsworth Prison for stealing one shilling in January 1873.

In the early 1870s, Wandsworth Prison in London produced haunting photographs of child offenders at a time when photography itself was still a novelty.

Many of these children were harshly punished for petty thefts that today would barely merit a warning. In Victorian society, no distinction was made between adult and juvenile criminals, so even very young offenders were sent to adult prisons, and in extreme cases, executed. Authorities, fearful of rising crime, began using cameras to document repeat offenders and circulated their images much like modern-day public warnings. It was only with the 1908 Children’s Act that juvenile courts were established, ending the practice of placing children in adult prisons or sentencing them to death, though corporal punishment remained.

h/t: vintag.es, thesun

Thomas Savage, 11, was given 4 days hard labor and 10 strokes of a birch cane at Wandsworth Prison for stealing some iron, in December 1872.

George Davis, 14, was whipped and given three days hard labor at Wandsworth Prison for stealing a pile of books in January 1873.

Thomas Goodstone, 14, was given 14 days hard labor at Wandsworth Prison for stealing 7lbs of pork over the Christmas period in 1872.

George Davis, 14, was whipped and given three days hard labor at Wandsworth Prison for stealing a pile of books in January 1873.

Samuel Warner, 14, was given 21 days hard labor at Wandsworth Prison for stealing three cups in January 1873.

William Simmer, 14, was given ten day hard labor at Wandsworth Prison for stealing two bottles of lemonade in January 1873.

Charles Evans, 14, was whipped and given three days hard labor at Wandsworth Prison for stealing a pile of books in January 1873.

Joseph Charmon, 12, was given 21 days hard labor at Wandsworth Prison for stealing a tame fowl, in December 1872.

John Webb, 13, was given 21 days hard labor at Wandsworth Prison for stealing four loaves of bread and a pot of jam, in December 1872.

Samuel Stilley, 14, was given one month hard labor at Wandsworth Prison for stealing two shillings and six pence in December 1872.

John Morelle, 12, was given 21 days hard labor at Wandsworth Prison for stealing a drinking glass in January 1873.

John Connoer, 15, was given one month hard labor at Wandsworth Prison for stealing in January 1873.

Eli Granger, 14, was whipped and given six months hard labor at Wandsworth Prison for attempting to commit identity fraud, January 1873.

George Whelan, 12, was given one month hard labor at Wandsworth Prison for stealing 1lb of beef, December 1872.

James Sherwood, 14, was given ten days hard labor at Wandsworth Prison for stealing a whip in January 1873.

Thomas Morris, 14, was given 21 days hard labor at Wandsworth Prison for 1lb of coal in January 1873.

John Garmin, 15, was given 21 days hard labor at Wandsworth Prison for stealing a blanket, January 1873.

John Ryan, 13, was given 10 days hard labor at Wandsworth Prison for stealing metal pipes worth 5 shillings, in December 1872.

Charles Summerley, 13, was given 10 days hard labor at Wandsworth Prison for stealing metal pipes worth 5 shillings, in December 1872.

Tammy Puplett, 14, was given three months hard labor at Wandsworth Prison for stealing 12 shilling and 9 pense, half a bottle of gin and three shirt studs in January 1873.

Samuel Stilley, 14, was given one month hard labor at Wandsworth Prison for stealing two shillings and six pence in December 1872.