ABSTRACT
While we may debate the degree to which there was a criminal underworld in Australia, there was an enduring belief in a criminal type. Pseudo-scientific theories including phrenology (the study of the shape of the skull) and Cesare Lombroso's concept of the born criminal supported a general belief that lawbreakers had shared physical characteristics. This chapter will explore how the use of detailed written descriptions of convicts was extended through the nineteenth century and into the twentieth century with the new technology of photography. These records were designed to assist in preventing crime and apprehending offenders, but they now provide historians was a rich source of information about contemporary dress, well-being (derived from height and weight) and self-presentation, including tattoos.
