After being discovered from a dumpster, a book containing a collection of eerie criminal mugshots from the Victorian era and beyond is expected to earn thousands at auction.
Between 1890 and 1920, the Peaky Blinders-style photographs were discovered within a police ledger.
More than a century ago, the paper addresses Alice Wheeldon, a woman convicted of plotting to kill then-British Prime Minister David Lloyd George.
Each of the 500 pages contains a grainy mugshot and information on a variety of offences, including larceny, burglary, shoplifting, and violence.
Lesser offenses include tiny thefts like taking a comb, using foul language, and even being a “incorrigible rogue.”
Approximately forty years ago, a former Derby police officer salvaged a remarkable document of “important relevance” from a dumpster.
On October 19, his son will sell the book via Hansons Auctioneers, where it is anticipated to garner between £2,000 and £3,000.
The criminals hail from all over the country, including Southampton, Hull, Birmingham, Leicester, and Nottinghamshire, among other cities.
David Lloyd George served as premier from 1916 until 1922.
The most notable pages of the ledger are to the Wheeldon family, who were prosecuted and convicted of conspiring to kill Lloyd George.
In March 1917, Alice Wheeldon, her daughter Winnie, and her son-in-law Alfred Mason were allegedly falsely convicted of the scheme.
Lloyd George had just begun his six-year tenure as prime minister, which ended in 1922, when he was only three months in.
The vendor, a 53-year-old engineer from Staffordshire who had resided in Derby for 47 years, stated, ‘The book was retrieved by my father, a police officer at the time, while he was employed by Derby Borough Police more than four decades ago.
The station was cleaning up the garages and storage areas of an old police station on St. Mary’s Gate in Derby. My father saved it from being discarded in the trash.
He believed it was too intriguing to be discarded. Unfortunately, my father is no longer with us, so I cannot inquire further.
He gave it to me thirty years ago. Since then, it has been stored in a cabinet and rarely sees the light of day.
Ten years ago, when I examined it in further detail, I noticed the Wheeldon family.
Alice Weeldon is today regarded as a hero in Derby for her anti-war and suffragette stance as well as her erroneous conviction.
The criminals hail from all over the country, including Southampton, Hull, Birmingham, Leicester, and Nottinghamshire, among other cities. Thomas Donald of Birmingham was arrested for theft and burglary
William Watson of Derby was found guilty of larceny, which is theft, for stealing a bicycle. More than four decades ago, the ledger was saved from being thrown away by the seller’s police officer father, who kept it from being thrown away during a house clearance.
Martin Adams of Nottingham was apprehended for a multitude of crimes, including the theft of a comb. On October 19, the ledger will be auctioned by Hansons Auctioneers and is anticipated to earn between £2,000 and £3,000.
A Blue Plaque and a star on the city’s Walk of Fame have been erected in her honor.
“After decades of being stored in a closet, I’ve decided it’s time for someone else to investigate this significant historical document.
In addition to the Wheeldon family, approximately 500 other people have a tale to tell.
Alice, who passed away in 1919, was an advocate for women’s suffrage and an opponent of war.
She is characterized as 51 years old, pale, with dark brown hair in the black-and-white mugshots of the Wheeldons.
A letter dated February 27, 1917 reads, “Murder conspiracy – 10 years.”
Discharged is written in red ink on a memo dated December 30, 1917. Added on February 21, 1919 is ‘Died’. Alice, weakened by her ordeal, succumbed to influenza during the notorious Spanish Flu pandemic.
It is thought that she was targeted because of her political ideas, and efforts were made as recently as 2019 to have the convictions overturned because “the defendants’ right to a fair trial was compromised in the name of political objectives.”
Some evidence may have been created for the purpose of disgracing the anti-war movement by a government intent on doing so.
During the First World War, it was known that the Wheeldons provided refuge to young men evading conscription.
In December 1916, an undercover agent named ‘Alex Gordon’ arrived at the Wheeldon residence posing as a conscientious objector. Alice welcomed him in.
He informed her that dogs guarded work sites for conscientious objectors. She was mailed a package containing two vials of curare and two vials of strychnine.
Annie Brown of Derby, whose alias was Black Diamond, was caught and convicted for using vulgar language and theft.
Alice Wheeldon was sentenced to ten years in jail in March 1917 for her claimed role in the Lloyd George assassination conspiracy, although she was released later that year due to bad health.
Winnie Mason was given a five-year sentence for her suspected participation in a plot to murder Lloyd George. She was released in 1919, following the end of the war.
Alfred George Mason, Winnifred’s husband, was given a seven-year prison sentence for his role in the murder plan.
It was stated that the contents of the package were intended to harm guard dogs at a work camp.
The case against the family was based on this claim.
In 1917, following her conviction, Alice went on hunger strike and was freed early due to ill health. Her daughter was also released in 1919, following the conclusion of the war.
Surviving relatives started a campaign to have the case reopened, but an attempt to clear their name failed earlier this year.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) stated in June that despite the validity of their claims, the case was too old to warrant the expense.
When the merchant initially approached me, I thought this book sounded quite intriguing,’ said Jim Spencer, an expert from Hanson.
“However, nothing prepared me for my first sight inside when he brought it to the Bishton Hall saleroom in Staffordshire for Hansons.”
“I was astounded at the number of individuals represented in the book, as well as the variety of crimes.
I’m sure many people will say it reminds them of the television show Peaky Blinders, and I suppose some of the criminals do have the appearance of a villain from a Laurel and Hardy movie, but the majority of them appear pitifully trapped by their circumstances.
“The overwhelming feeling I have is one of tragedy, as desperate people living in poverty commit petty thefts.”
There is a sense of social division between the majority of criminals who wear cloth caps and steal food and clothing and the occasional gentleman who wears a bowler hat and is accused of embezzlement.
“Many of the women have been convicted of prostitution in the past, and many of the men have been charged with subsisting on prostitution earnings. In certain situations, both parents have been found guilty of causing their children to beg.
‘Some of the men are described as wearing military uniforms, and many are said to have naval tattoos. The majority of identifying marks are physical scars. This book gives me a sense of some extremely terrible lives.
Some convictions are embarrassingly trivial, such as ‘theft of a tin of pine apples,’ ‘theft of a bag of soot,’ and ‘theft of growing apples,’ while others are oddly ambiguous, such as ‘incorrigible rogue.’
This makes the discovery of a conviction for conspiracy to murder the prime minister all the more startling.
It is rather odd to view the initial “mug pictures” of Alice Wheeldon and her family.
In my opinion, this gives the book great significance. I am happy that the vendor’s father saved this vital historical primary source.
‘Of course, it’s difficult to forecast the collectible monetary value of anything like this, but it’s significant enough for me to estimate £2,000 to £3,000.’
</ad-slot