CultureFrench
Titles
- Empreintes Digitales
- Fingerprints
Datec. 1900
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 4 13/16 × 6 3/4 in. (12.2 × 17.2 cm)
Sheet: 5 1/16 × 6 15/16 in. (12.8 × 17.7 cm)
Sheet: 5 1/16 × 6 15/16 in. (12.8 × 17.7 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number2016.348
Not on view
Explore Further
Department
PhotographyObject Type
Fingerprints, unique to every individual, have a long history in both art and crime. In ancient Babylonia and China, thumbprints and fingerprints were used on clay tablets and seals as signatures. It was not until the 19th century, however, that a system of fingerprint classification for law enforcement was established.
Provenance[Ader Nordmann, Paris, Photographies & Livres de Photographies, November 12, 2016, 52 (illus.), lot 81]; purchased by MFAH, 2016.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
[no inscriptions]
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
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Alphonse Bertillon
c. 1900
Book of gelatin silver prints
2016.341
Tom Patti
1982–1984
Paper, colored pencil, graphite, gelatin silver prints, newsprint, and vinyl portfolio
2023.267.A-.D