These are the mugshots of Victorian child offenders - some of whom were as young as ten when they were arrested for petty crime.
The black and white photographs, which originate from Dorset County Gaol - later to be known as Dorchester Prison - date to the mid-19th century when the concept of photography was still relatively new after the invention of the camera.
Most of the criminals were sent to jail for stealing seemingly petty items that would barely warrant a police caution today.
One of the shots shows a boy of 10 who was jailed for 21 days in 1876 for stealing two tin horns worth eight shillings - the direct equivalent of 40p, or £1.50 in today's money and currency.
In those days in Britain, such a crime - which seems petty to us today - could have sentenced you to the death penalty.
The Victorian Asbo kids: Some of the first ever police mugshots show 19th-century petty criminals including one aged just TEN who was jailed for stealing a tin horn worth just 40p
Remarkable collection shows mugshots of several 19th century child criminals living in and around Dorchester, Dorset
Most were jailed for stealing petty items - such as spades and boots - which would only warrant a police caution today
Luther Gosney, 10, jailed for 21 days in 1876 for stealing two tin horns worth eight shillings - the equivalent of £1.50 in today's money and currency
Another Samuel James, 11, and accomplice Albert Hallett, 10, jailed for a month for stealing cocoa
Images were taken shortly before offenders were released from prison so public could identify them
By Lizzie Edmonds
12 February 2014
Daily Mail
These are the mugshots of Victorian child offenders - some of whom were as young as ten when they were arrested for petty crime.
The black and white photographs, which originate from Dorset County Gaol - later to be known as Dorchester Prison - date to the mid-19th century when the concept of photography was still relatively new after the invention of the camera.
Most of the criminals were sent to jail for stealing seemingly petty items that would barely warrant a police caution today.
One of the shots shows a boy of 10 who was jailed for 21 days in 1876 for stealing two tin horns worth eight shillings - the direct equivalent of 40p, or £1.50 in today's money.
These are the mugshots of several Victorian petty criminals, operating in Dorset and the surrounding area. 10-year-old Luther Gosney (top) was committed to Dorchester jail after stealing two tin horns worth eight shillings and Isaac Bealing (bottom) was jailed for six weeks after stealing a cloth coat worth two shillings and sixpence
Pricilla Penfold was jailed for a month in October 1874 and sentenced to five years in the reformatory - for stealing a cloak. Samuel James, 11, was working in a silk factory with accomplice Albert Hallett, 10, when the duo were jailed for a month for stealing cocoa on 14 Jan 1873. The images originate from Dorchester Prison archive
Upon his release, Luther Gosney also had to spend five years in a reformatory, schools for juvenile offenders aimed to correct their behaviour.
But 14 years later he was caught stealing more than £5 from a residential home, the equivalent of almost £300 today, and sentenced to 10 months in prison.
Samuel James, 11, was working in a silk factory with accomplice Albert Hallett, 10, when the duo were jailed for a month for stealing cocoa on 14 Jan 1873.
Another image shows repeat offender Augustus Gaulton, who was first convicted of assault when he was 17 and continued a criminal career until he was 61.
Over the years he stole a pair of boots, two rabbits, three ducks, and a spade, and each time his punishments became harsher. He spent most of his life in and out of prison.
Isaac Bealing was jailed for six weeks when he was aged 24 after stealing a cloth coat worth two shillings and sixpence - £5.70 in today's money.
In the same year he was discharged he was sent to prison for a second time after stealing oak sticks worth just sixpence in 1872.
He was eventually sent to Broadmoor Asylum in Crowthorne, Berkshire, after he was declared insane.
Thirza Jefford was sentenced to a month of hard labour after entering the house of Ann Gush with an intent to steal. (Bottom) Augustus Galton (pictured in 1894) who was first convicted of assault when he was 17 and continued a criminal career until he was 61
Other images in the gallery include further harsh sentences for seemingly mild crimes, including Rosanna Smith who was jailed for four months for stealing a blanket and sheet.
Despite having committed small crimes, the punishment in jail was harsh and prisoners were forced to carry out menial and laborious manual tasks on minimal food.
A photograph of Thirza Jefford is also in the gallery. She was sentenced to a month of hard labour after entering the house of Ann Gush with an intent to steal.
Another prisoner pictured is Priscilla Penfold, who was jailed for a month in October 1974 and sentenced to five years in the reformatory for stealing a cloak. The garment was worth 25 shillings - £57 today.
Her mother, of the same name, was an accomplice in her daughter's crime and was also charged with stealing a dress that belonged another woman, worth eight shillings.
She had a previous stealing conviction and had already been in prison for a month before, and she was sentenced to eight months hard labour.
Mary Ann Ironside and her husband William Ironside, 67, were arrested for stealing a towel in 1873. Mr Ironside was released three days later but his wife, who had previous convictions, remained in jail for 12.
Following the development of the camera, police realised they could use the new technology to their advantage and took images of repeat offenders.
Just as Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (Asbos) work today, officers released the photos to warn the public when the criminal was to be released from prison.
As the use of cameras became more common taking mugshots became the norm until it was made compulsory for everyone to be photographed after they were arrested.
Research into the gallery was conducted by Maddy Duke, 62, a volunteer researcher at the Dorset History Centre.
She said: 'The earliest images I have seen are from 1870 and they were of people who had been remanded in custody.
Mary Ann Ironside and her husband William Ironside, 67, were arrested for stealing a towel in 1873. Mr Ironside was released three days later but his wife, who had previous convictions, remained in jail for 12. Volunteer researcher Maddy Duke painstakingly combed the archives at Dorset History Centre
'Initially it appeared as though they just kept the photographs to identify any re-offenders but eventually became something they did on a regular basis.
'Researching the photographs from Dorchester was very interesting because I am based in the area so I was able to go and see the places they lived and where they were.
'It also revealed an awful lot about the prisoners, the punishments, and life in jail itself.
'The Victorians had a very different system back then, they would be fairly lenient for a first crime but if people then carried on the sentences became bigger and bigger.
'They cared about how many crimes a person had committed rather than the severity of the individual crimes.
A modern day picture of Dorchester Prison in Dorset - where all of the criminals were sent for a variety of sentences from a couple of days to a number of months
'It doesn't sit easy with our views of the world today but that was their way of dealing with it to try and stop re-offenders and they believed they should be punished.
'One of the punishments in the prisons was a treadmill, a circular mill wheel for grinding, and instead of it being driven by a donkey, it was moved by prisoners.
'Sometimes the mill would be producing nothing, so they would be moving it for no reason whatsoever. This was considered even more of a punishment.'
Read more: The Victorian Asbo kids: Some of the first ever police mugshots show 19th-century petty criminals including one aged just TEN who was jailed for stealing a tin horn worth just 40p | Mail Online
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
The black and white photographs, which originate from Dorset County Gaol - later to be known as Dorchester Prison - date to the mid-19th century when the concept of photography was still relatively new after the invention of the camera.
Most of the criminals were sent to jail for stealing seemingly petty items that would barely warrant a police caution today.
One of the shots shows a boy of 10 who was jailed for 21 days in 1876 for stealing two tin horns worth eight shillings - the direct equivalent of 40p, or £1.50 in today's money and currency.
In those days in Britain, such a crime - which seems petty to us today - could have sentenced you to the death penalty.
The Victorian Asbo kids: Some of the first ever police mugshots show 19th-century petty criminals including one aged just TEN who was jailed for stealing a tin horn worth just 40p
Remarkable collection shows mugshots of several 19th century child criminals living in and around Dorchester, Dorset
Most were jailed for stealing petty items - such as spades and boots - which would only warrant a police caution today
Luther Gosney, 10, jailed for 21 days in 1876 for stealing two tin horns worth eight shillings - the equivalent of £1.50 in today's money and currency
Another Samuel James, 11, and accomplice Albert Hallett, 10, jailed for a month for stealing cocoa
Images were taken shortly before offenders were released from prison so public could identify them
By Lizzie Edmonds
12 February 2014
Daily Mail
These are the mugshots of Victorian child offenders - some of whom were as young as ten when they were arrested for petty crime.
The black and white photographs, which originate from Dorset County Gaol - later to be known as Dorchester Prison - date to the mid-19th century when the concept of photography was still relatively new after the invention of the camera.
Most of the criminals were sent to jail for stealing seemingly petty items that would barely warrant a police caution today.
One of the shots shows a boy of 10 who was jailed for 21 days in 1876 for stealing two tin horns worth eight shillings - the direct equivalent of 40p, or £1.50 in today's money.
These are the mugshots of several Victorian petty criminals, operating in Dorset and the surrounding area. 10-year-old Luther Gosney (top) was committed to Dorchester jail after stealing two tin horns worth eight shillings and Isaac Bealing (bottom) was jailed for six weeks after stealing a cloth coat worth two shillings and sixpence
Pricilla Penfold was jailed for a month in October 1874 and sentenced to five years in the reformatory - for stealing a cloak. Samuel James, 11, was working in a silk factory with accomplice Albert Hallett, 10, when the duo were jailed for a month for stealing cocoa on 14 Jan 1873. The images originate from Dorchester Prison archive
Upon his release, Luther Gosney also had to spend five years in a reformatory, schools for juvenile offenders aimed to correct their behaviour.
But 14 years later he was caught stealing more than £5 from a residential home, the equivalent of almost £300 today, and sentenced to 10 months in prison.
Samuel James, 11, was working in a silk factory with accomplice Albert Hallett, 10, when the duo were jailed for a month for stealing cocoa on 14 Jan 1873.
Another image shows repeat offender Augustus Gaulton, who was first convicted of assault when he was 17 and continued a criminal career until he was 61.
Over the years he stole a pair of boots, two rabbits, three ducks, and a spade, and each time his punishments became harsher. He spent most of his life in and out of prison.
Isaac Bealing was jailed for six weeks when he was aged 24 after stealing a cloth coat worth two shillings and sixpence - £5.70 in today's money.
In the same year he was discharged he was sent to prison for a second time after stealing oak sticks worth just sixpence in 1872.
He was eventually sent to Broadmoor Asylum in Crowthorne, Berkshire, after he was declared insane.
Thirza Jefford was sentenced to a month of hard labour after entering the house of Ann Gush with an intent to steal. (Bottom) Augustus Galton (pictured in 1894) who was first convicted of assault when he was 17 and continued a criminal career until he was 61
Other images in the gallery include further harsh sentences for seemingly mild crimes, including Rosanna Smith who was jailed for four months for stealing a blanket and sheet.
Despite having committed small crimes, the punishment in jail was harsh and prisoners were forced to carry out menial and laborious manual tasks on minimal food.
A photograph of Thirza Jefford is also in the gallery. She was sentenced to a month of hard labour after entering the house of Ann Gush with an intent to steal.
Another prisoner pictured is Priscilla Penfold, who was jailed for a month in October 1974 and sentenced to five years in the reformatory for stealing a cloak. The garment was worth 25 shillings - £57 today.
Her mother, of the same name, was an accomplice in her daughter's crime and was also charged with stealing a dress that belonged another woman, worth eight shillings.
She had a previous stealing conviction and had already been in prison for a month before, and she was sentenced to eight months hard labour.
Mary Ann Ironside and her husband William Ironside, 67, were arrested for stealing a towel in 1873. Mr Ironside was released three days later but his wife, who had previous convictions, remained in jail for 12.
Following the development of the camera, police realised they could use the new technology to their advantage and took images of repeat offenders.
Just as Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (Asbos) work today, officers released the photos to warn the public when the criminal was to be released from prison.
As the use of cameras became more common taking mugshots became the norm until it was made compulsory for everyone to be photographed after they were arrested.
Research into the gallery was conducted by Maddy Duke, 62, a volunteer researcher at the Dorset History Centre.
She said: 'The earliest images I have seen are from 1870 and they were of people who had been remanded in custody.
Mary Ann Ironside and her husband William Ironside, 67, were arrested for stealing a towel in 1873. Mr Ironside was released three days later but his wife, who had previous convictions, remained in jail for 12. Volunteer researcher Maddy Duke painstakingly combed the archives at Dorset History Centre
'Initially it appeared as though they just kept the photographs to identify any re-offenders but eventually became something they did on a regular basis.
'Researching the photographs from Dorchester was very interesting because I am based in the area so I was able to go and see the places they lived and where they were.
'It also revealed an awful lot about the prisoners, the punishments, and life in jail itself.
'The Victorians had a very different system back then, they would be fairly lenient for a first crime but if people then carried on the sentences became bigger and bigger.
'They cared about how many crimes a person had committed rather than the severity of the individual crimes.
A modern day picture of Dorchester Prison in Dorset - where all of the criminals were sent for a variety of sentences from a couple of days to a number of months
'It doesn't sit easy with our views of the world today but that was their way of dealing with it to try and stop re-offenders and they believed they should be punished.
'One of the punishments in the prisons was a treadmill, a circular mill wheel for grinding, and instead of it being driven by a donkey, it was moved by prisoners.
'Sometimes the mill would be producing nothing, so they would be moving it for no reason whatsoever. This was considered even more of a punishment.'
Read more: The Victorian Asbo kids: Some of the first ever police mugshots show 19th-century petty criminals including one aged just TEN who was jailed for stealing a tin horn worth just 40p | Mail Online
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
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