Photograph of John Welshouse Affixed to Bertillon Measurement Card
From the Inmate Case File of John Welshouse, Inmate No. 4816.
The Bertillon Card for John Welshouse, an inmate of the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta, states he was examined on January 26, 1914. A system of physical identification pre-dating the use of fingerprints, Bertillon Measurements used anthropometrics, such as the length and width of the head and the degree of forehead slope to create an individual’s unique profile. Welshouse’s file indicates that he was convicted in New Orleans, Louisiana for violation of the White Slave Act, although his sentence was later commuted.
They use to do these at the old state penitentiary in Rawlins Wyomming. Being a tour guide there was the best job ever.
