We may think of binge drinking as a distinctly modern phenomenon, but these extraordinary mugshots remind us that police have been attempting to tackle alcohol abuse for decades.
The images from the early 1900s show a succession of women who were banned from their local pubs in Birmingham after being arrested and dubbed 'habitual drunkards'.
The problem drinkers - some of whom look distinctly sinister although others have a much more respectable air - were placed on the city's 'Black List', barring them getting served in pubs.
Officials circulated a list of 82 drunkards - including 37 women - around Birmingham's pubs, warning landlords to keep an eye out for them.
Each notice bore a mugshot of the criminal, as well as a description of their 'stout builds' and 'oval faces'.
The historical discovery was unearthed by family-tree website ancestry.co.uk.
Sinister: One-eyed Kate Kibble is one of the 37 women banned from Birmingham's pubs in 1902
Miscreant: Alice Tatlow, another woman whose mugshot was published to warn publicans about her, had the Prince of Wales's feathers tattooed on her right foot (the Prince of Wales at that time was George, the future King George V, the grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II)
Middle-aged: But Mary Bayliss is one of the many respectable-looking women barred from drinking in Birmingham
Drunk: Many of those on the city's 'Blacklist', like Susannah Booton, had been arrested for public drunkenness
Young: Most of the women on the list were aged between 30 and 40; this is Sarah Henson
'Habitual drinkers': Elizabeth Thompson is pictured after her arrest for being drunk in public
Criminal: Annie Hodgkins, alias 'Hodgkiss', was charged with being drunk and disorderly
Last edited:
