Aberdeen City and Aberdeen Archives has almost completed the process of restoring a unique volume containing nearly a thousand photographs of prisoners incarcerated at HM General Prison in Perth.
The register, which is part of the Aberdeen City Police collection, contains nearly a thousand mugshots with accompanying details of prisoners released from the prison between April 7, 1882 and January 18, 1884.
Constructed in 1839, the General Prison at Perth housed long-term convicts serving sentences exceeding nine months and those categorized as “lunatic” prisoners.
The book contains photographs of the head and upper body of seated prisoners, and is accompanied by descriptions of the individual, their crime and where they intended to reside following their release.
A £2,638 grant from the National Manuscripts Conservation Trust enabled the volume to be stabilised and conserved so that it can be handled and used by the public in the search rooms.
The volume will be digitized and made available online.
While waiting for the digitization be completed, you can look at at a transcription of the names of the convicts that appear in the volume.
You can read more about the conservation project on the Aberdeen City and Aberdeen Archives blog.
