These vintage prison photos and prints from across America aren’t just black-and-white images, they are a direct line to a forgotten past hidden behind high walls and locked gates. Let’s explore some of these old prisons photos that shows a visual history that is as compelling as it is haunting.
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Windsor Prison
Windsor Prison, about 1865
Image Credit: J. Paul Getty Museum/Getty.edu
Guatemala Prison
Guatemala prison, photo taken around 1875–1876.
Image Credit: J. Paul Getty Museum/Getty.edu
Castle Thunder – Confederate Prison.
Castle Thunder prison in Richmond, Virginia. photo taken around 1865–1875.
Image Credit: J. Paul Getty Museum/Getty.edu
Prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Photo taken about 1870.
Image Credit: J. Paul Getty Museum/Getty.edu
State Prison, Boston
Chain Shop in State Prison, Boston. 1870.
Image Credit: J. Paul Getty Museum/Getty.edu
New York State Prison
Engine Room in New York state prison, June 1875.
Image Credit: J. Paul Getty Museum/Getty.edu
Sing Sing Prison, New York
Sing Sing Prison Dining hall, photo taken around 1860s.
Image Credit: J. Paul Getty Museum/Getty.edu
Massachusetts State Prison
Prison Yard at dinner time, about 1865.
Image Credit: J. Paul Getty Museum/Getty.edu
State Prison, San Quentin
Guard post in San Quentin state prison.
Image Credit: J. Paul Getty Museum/Getty.edu
Beatrice Cenci in Prison
Ilusstration of Beatrice Cenci in Prison, 1865.
Image Credit: J. Paul Getty Museum/Getty.edu
Sing Sing Prison Main Hall
Interior view of the Main Hall of Prison, east side, which is 6 stories high, and contains 600 cells.
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