Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Suffragette Surveillance, 1912


via retronaut
“In 1912, Scotland Yard detectives bought their first camera, to covertly photograph suffragettes. The pictures were compiled into ID sheets for officers on the ground.

When Evelyn Manesta, one of the Manchester suffragettes, refused to pose for a picture, a guard was brought in to restrain her in front of the camera. But when the photograph of Evelyn Manesta appeared, the arm had been removed. The photographer had acted on official instructions to doctor the photograph so that it would be less controversial...”

Images © National Portrait Gallery, London. Read the BBC article here. More images from the BBC can be found here.

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