The photograph was supposedly produced in April 1894, after the capture of the Cook family by Middlesbrough Police. That hypothetical date is based upon the article which was printed in the Daily Gazette for Middlesbrough on 06 April 1894. The article reported the burglary of John W. Mitchell’s house where he accused the Cooks of the intrusion and in addition to that assessed the damage to his property inflicted by the notorious family. It is believed that later on the photograph was included into the mugshot book of North Riding police force and then ended up in the archives of Cleveland Police. In its turn, Cleveland Police donated various crime-related objects from its archives, including the mugshot book with the photograph, to Stockton
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The access to the photographs and mugshot books was narrowed down to an inner circle of police service members and not in the least were these photographs meant for general public observation. In connection with that it might be doubtful whether one can give precise information concerning the affective appraisal of the source and its original reception. The photograph carried out its function of adding the newly-fledged culprits to the criminal database and then became a part of the police official documentation. Nevertheless, a peculiar shift of perception of the photograph can be traced throughout the relatively short period of time. Nowadays the photograph is of interest not only to historians and limited circle of people in the Cleveland Police department with access to the archives but also to ordinary people who take interest in the history of their own region. As is often the case, quite an ordinary item which belonged to the reality of the past eventually becomes an object of research and of particular interest, helping historians to create a link between different eras and to get a better understanding of the period. So one hundred and twenty one years later the photograph still exists and is easily accessible to the public. Anyone who wants to become familiar with the mugshot containing the photograph has a possibility to visit Preston Park Museum’s exhibition dedicated to the historical criminal past of
The access to the photographs and mugshot books was narrowed down to an inner circle of police service members and not in the least were these photographs meant for general public observation. In connection with that it might be doubtful whether one can give precise information concerning the affective appraisal of the source and its original reception. The photograph carried out its function of adding the newly-fledged culprits to the criminal database and then became a part of the police official documentation. Nevertheless, a peculiar shift of perception of the photograph can be traced throughout the relatively short period of time. Nowadays the photograph is of interest not only to historians and limited circle of people in the Cleveland Police department with access to the archives but also to ordinary people who take interest in the history of their own region. As is often the case, quite an ordinary item which belonged to the reality of the past eventually becomes an object of research and of particular interest, helping historians to create a link between different eras and to get a better understanding of the period. So one hundred and twenty one years later the photograph still exists and is easily accessible to the public. Anyone who wants to become familiar with the mugshot containing the photograph has a possibility to visit Preston Park Museum’s exhibition dedicated to the historical criminal past of