1930s MA State Police Murder Trial Courtroom Suspect Glass Negatives (4) OOAK
Set of four (4) original, one-of-a-kind (OOAK) camera-original antique 4x5 gelatin silver glass plate negatives captured circa 1934: a gripping Depression-era true crime and judicial documentary archive: the high-security transfer, armed state police escort, and packed courtroom trial proceedings of a notorious Massachusetts criminal case.
Accompanied by the original vintage tan kraft darkroom morgue filing sleeve bearing contemporary newsroom documentation:
The Sleeve Inscription:
Law enforcement
Historical & Law Enforcement Significance:
During the violent crime wave of the mid-1930s, sensational bank robberies and armed payroll holdups across Massachusetts commanded nationwide headlines. High-profile capital cases—such as the infamous Millen-Faber gang trials following the deadly 1934 Needham bank robbery—required unprecedented courthouse security, mobilizing dozens of heavily armed Massachusetts State Police troopers and Boston detectives to escort prisoners through crowds of spectators and reporters.
Captured on location across the courthouse, corridors, and exterior motorcade by Boston Herald-Traveler staff photojournalist Leslie Jones:
Plate 1 — The Packed Courtroom & Identification Circles: A dramatic elevated composition looking down over dozens of spectators crammed shoulder-to-shoulder in the gallery. At the defense table sit legal counsel, leather briefcases, and water pitchers, featuring authentic period newsroom editor crop rings drawn on the emulsion to isolate key defendants and witnesses for front-page layout.
Plate 2 — Formal Prisoner Lineup: A sharp, direct corridor composition showing the central defendant in a double-breasted woolen suit, necktie, and pocket square surrounded by stern-faced detectives in round spectacles and an escorting State Police officer.
Plate 3 — Motorcade Arrival & Armed Troopers: An exterior shot beside a black patrol car showing a security cordon of Massachusetts State Police troopers in full summer uniform tunics, jodhpurs, high leather riding boots, service caps, and leather cartridge belts loaded with ammunition.
Plate 4 — High-Angle Staircase Transfer: A downward vantage point capturing detectives and a uniformed trooper in leather cross-draw gear guiding the prisoner through a tiled detention corridor.
Tonal Fidelity: Superb continuous silver gelatin tone rendering the woven wool suits, brass uniform buttons, gleaming firearm leather, and facial expressions of spectators and data-path-to-node=\"16\">
Format: Set of four (4) heavy antique silver gelatin 4x5 glass plate negatives, exposed directly in a press camera, circa 1934.
Archive Ephemera Included: Accompanied by the original vintage tan kraft darkroom morgue filing envelope.
Please Note: This listing is for the four (4) original antique glass plate negatives and their period paper archive sleeve only. Any positive photographic images shown in this listing are modern inverted digital scans provided solely as a visual representation to show what finished photographs print like. No physical paper photographs, modern prints, or paper products of any kind are included with this purchase.
Condition:
Very Good to Excellent antique condition. All four heavy glass plates are structurally sound with no cracks, fractures, or glass breaks across the image planes. The silver gelatin emulsions are clean, sharp, and stable throughout, exhibiting pinpoint clarity across courtroom figures, police uniforms, and firearms gear. Displays authentic period darkroom grease-pencil identification markings on Plate 1, with only minor authentic edge silvering and faint handling wear strictly along the extreme outer rebate borders outside the primary image area. Accompanied by the original period kraft morgue filing sleeve.
The glass plate negative measures 4 x 5In.
If you collect glass negatives, please check out our collection in our store. We are currently listing thousands of original glass photo negatives from this DJD collection through the remainder of the year. Follow our store, and feel free to reach out about any questions about the negatives in this collection.
Ships with extreme care in archival materials to ensure safe transit. Feel free to reach out with any requests or questions).
Combined shipping is available (with other glass negatives)
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