Akin to the thick mugshot books kept by prisons before the digital age, this typological album, likely created by a security guard or manager, is an intimate survey of accused shoplifters at a Woolworth’s in early-1960s Chicago. The images are compiled chronologically, as evidenced by the (seemingly-intentional) presence of a calendar in the background of each photograph. Adjacent to each subject’s photograph is a hand-written note detailing what they attempted to steal, the value of the pilfered goods, and a brief biography of the alleged culprit (identified as a “shoplifter,” “booster,” “disorderly,” “narcotics addict,” or “former employee”). Some subjects appear stubbornly defiant, such as one man with thick glasses and a blank expression, staring almost directly into the camera after he was caught trying to make off with a six dollar “religious statue.” Others appear as though they could burst into tears any moment . One forlorn-looking woman, her eyes to the floor, is shown alongside a caption reading, “3 blouses - Total $5.97 - Apprehended with mother.” The clinical description of the stolen goods posited alongside the candid photo of the accused creates a portrait that is bracingly intimate, and gives the feeling that the viewer is the one who caught them in the act.