Penitentiary Collection

The Order of Release, 1746, 1852-1853. Artist: John Everett Millais
The Order of Release, 1746, 1852-1853. A barefoot Scottish woman with child in arms brings the official document releasing her wounded husband from prison after the failure of the Second Jacobite

State Penitentiary at Stateville, Joliet, Illinois, USA
Interior view of a cell block at the Illinois State Penitentiary at Stateville, near Joliet, Illinois, USA. The prison was designed using the panopticon principle promoted by Jeremy Bentham

USA, California, San Francisco - Alcatraz Island, former maximum high-security federal prison, San Francisco Bay - aerial

Lochleven Castle, Scotland, the prison of Mary, Queen of Scots, 1840. Artist: C J Smith
Lochleven Castle, Scotland, the prison of Mary, Queen of Scots, 1840. Mary was imprisoned here between 1567 and 1568. Illustration from Historical

Untitled (27), c. 1890. [Bridge of Sighs, Venice]. Creator: Unknown
Untitled (27), c. 1890. [Bridge of Sighs, Venice]. Photogravure, no. 39 from the portfolio " Calli, Canali e Isole della Laguna"

Playing rackets, Fleet Prison, London, c1825. Artist: Theodore Lane
Playing rackets, Fleet Prison, London, c1825

Brixton purgatory, 1822. Prisoners Theodore Hook, William Cobbett, Henry Hunt and Thomas Wooler on the treadmill at Brixton Prison

Millbank Penitentiary
MILLBANK PENITENTIARY with a carriers wagon passing on its way from Gloucester and Cirencester

"John Bunyan Reciting The Pilgrim's Progress'...in Bedford Gaol, ...by G. F. Folingsby... 1864
"John Bunyan Reciting The Pilgrim's Progress to his friends in Bedford Gaol", by G. F. Folingsby, of Munich, in the exhibition of Fine Arts at Melbourne, Australia, 1864

The War in America: Fort Lafayette, the Federal Bastille for political prisoners, 1862. Creator: Smyth
The War in America: Fort Lafayette, the Federal Bastille for political prisoners, 1862. The traveller to America who enters the beautiful harbour of New York...will observe

Paris Demolitions - covered promenade, 1864. Creator: Unknown
Paris Demolitions - the Hotel des Haricots, or prison of the National Guard of Paris: covered promenade, 1864. View of...the Hotel des Haricots

Paris Demolitions - the Hotel des Haricots, or prison of the National Guard of Paris, 1864. Engraving from a sketch by M. Felix Thorigny

Exhibits of the Tomsk prison, 1911. Creator: A. A. Antonov
Exhibits of the Tomsk prison, 1911. From a collection of photographs documenting the First West Siberian Agricultural, Forestry, and Industrial Trade Exhibition, which took place in Omsk in 1911

Orator in Prison, late 18th century. Creator: Hubert Robert
Orator in Prison, late 18th century

Prisoners on a Projecting Platform, 1761. Creator: Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Prisoners on a Projecting Platform, 1761. Series: Le Carceri d'invenzione, pl. X

The Staircase with Trophies, 1761. Creator: Giovanni Battista Piranesi
The Staircase with Trophies, 1761. Series: Le Carceri d'invenzione, pl. VIII

American Sketches: Prison Life in Blackwell's Island, New York - outdoor work, 1876. Creator: Unknown
American Sketches: Prison Life in Blackwell's Island, New York - outdoor work, 1876. The outdoor employments assigned to most of the male convicts, who number above five hundred

AI IMAGE - Portrait of Martha Corey in her prison cell, Salem, 1692, (2023). Creator: Heritage Images
AI IMAGE - Portrait of Martha Corey in her prison cell, Salem, 1692, (2023). Martha Corey, was accused and convicted of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials, on September 9, 1692

The Sawhorse, between 1749 and 1750. Creator: Giovanni Battista Piranesi
The Sawhorse, between 1749 and 1750. Series: Invenzioni Capric di Carceri; Edition: first

AI IMAGE - Portrait of Martha Corey in her prison cell, Salem, 1692, (2023). Creator: Heritage Images
AI IMAGE - Portrait of Martha Corey in her prison cell, Salem, 1692, (2023). Martha Corey, was accused and convicted of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials, on September 9, 1692

American Prison Life, Blackwell's Island, New York: Dinner-Time, 1876. Creator: Unknown
American Prison Life, Blackwell's Island, New York: Dinner-Time, 1876. Convicts complying with a...regulation to be observed after the dismissal of the guests from that monotonous repast

Woman Lifting Infant to Cell Window, mid 19th century. Creator: Alfred Jacob Miller
Woman Lifting Infant to Cell Window, mid 19th century

Iwami Jutaro, between c1867 and c1868. Creator: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
Iwami Jutaro, between c1867 and c1868

American Sketches: Blackwell's Island Penitentiary, New York - Dining-Room, 1876. Creator: Unknown
American Sketches: Blackwell's Island Penitentiary, New York - Dining-Room, 1876. Blackwell's Island is the locality of several different institutions, besides the House of Correction

American Sketches: Prison Life on Blackwell's Island - No. 1. returning from work, 1876. In the penitentiary...where the sketch was taken by our correspondent, the late M

Altarpiece with the Passion of Christ: Christ Mocked, c1480-1495. Creator: Unknown
Altarpiece with the Passion of Christ: Christ Mocked, c1480-1495. The Passion of Christ was a popular theme for 15th-century altarpieces in northern Europe

Altarpiece with the Passion of Christ: Flagellation, c1480-1495. Creator: Unknown
Altarpiece with the Passion of Christ: Flagellation, c1480-1495. The Passion of Christ was a popular theme for 15th-century altarpieces in northern Europe

The Giant Wheel, 1761. Creator: Giovanni Battista Piranesi
The Giant Wheel, 1761. From Le Carceri d'Invenzione (II)

The Sawhorse, 1761. Creator: Giovanni Battista Piranesi
The Sawhorse, 1761

The Gothic Arch, 1761. Creator: Giovanni Battista Piranesi
The Gothic Arch, 1761. Series: Le Carceri d'invenzione, pl. XIV

Jailer, 1837-1895. Creator: David van der Kellen
Jailer, 1837-1895

The Refuge for Female Convicts at Fulham, 1858. Creator: Unknown
The Refuge for Female Convicts at Fulham, [London], 1858. The inmates, ... though apparently left very much at liberty...are still under that degree of superintendence which

The Lion Bas-Reliefs, 1761. Creator: Giovanni Battista Piranesi
The Lion Bas-Reliefs, 1761. Series: Le Carceri d'invenzione, pl. V

The Grand Piazza, 1761. Creator: Giovanni Battista Piranesi
The Grand Piazza, 1761. Series: Le Carceri d'invenzione, pl. IV

View of the prison windmill in Amsterdam, 1800-1900. Creator: Anon
View of the prison windmill in Amsterdam, 1800-1900

The Prison and Guard at Tetuan; A Ride to Gebel-Mousa, in North-Western Barbary, 1875. Creator: Trorey Blackmore
The Prison and Guard at Tetuan; A Ride to Gebel-Mousa, in North-Western Barbary, 1875. From Illustrated Travels by H.W. Bates. [Cassell, Petter, and Galpin, c1880, London] and Galpin

Menus Propos, 1856. Creator: Félicien Rops
Menus Propos, 1856. From periodical: Uylenspiegel, no. 15, 11 May 1856

The release of politicial prisoners from the Castellamare, Palermo, on June 19... 1860. Creator: Unknown
The release of politicial prisoners from the Castellamare, Palermo, on June 19 - from a sketch by our special artist, Frank Vizetelly, 1860

Sketches from Naples - the Island of Nisida, 1857. Creator: Unknown
Sketches from Naples - the Island of Nisida, [Italy] 1857. On this site, in more modem times, has been erected an "Ergastolo" - a building which, by law, must be upon an island

American Prison Life, Blackwell's Island, New York: Dinner-Time, 1876. Creator: Unknown
American Prison Life, Blackwell's Island, New York: Dinner-Time, 1876....the inmates, who are here treated with compulsory hospitality

The Liberation of Saint Peter, c1625. Creator: Leonard Bramer
The Liberation of Saint Peter, c1625

Design for a stage set for a prison vestibule, 1779. Creator: Pieter Barbiers
Design for a stage set for a prison vestibule, 1779

Ainsi donc, mon ami à vingt-deux ans vous aviez déjà tué trois hommes... 1844. Creator: Honore Daumier
Ainsi donc, mon ami a vingt-deux ans vous aviez deja tue trois hommes... 1844. Ainsi donc, mon ami, a vingt deux ans vous aviez deja tue trois hommes...quelle puissante organisation

View of the interior of the Mamertine prison in Rome, 1700-1799. Creator: Anon
View of the interior of the Mamertine prison in Rome, 1700-1799. An angel leads Saint Peter past the sleeping guards and frees him from prison

Dungeon - design for a stage set, 1700-1800. Creator: J.A. Tempelier
Dungeon - design for a stage set, 1700-1800. Theatre set

Calcutta Gate and Main Guard, Fort William: Native Prisoners under Escort, 1857. Creator: Unknown
Calcutta Gate and Main Guard, Fort William, [Kolkata, India]: Native Prisoners under Escort, 1857....a native was tried for attempting to seduce the sepoys of the 70th Native Infantry in Calcutta

Balaclava Heights, 1856. Creator: Unknown
Balaclava Heights, 1856. Sketch by...a Correspondent on board H.M.S. Leander..."The Castle seems of very great extent

Bridge of Sighs and Palazzo Ducale in Venice, 1850-1876. Creator: Anon
Bridge of Sighs and Palazzo Ducale in Venice, 1850-1876. Part of an album with photos and drawings by Manuel Mayo, 1876

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"Exploring the World of Penitentiaries: From Stateville to Alcatraz" Discover the haunting history of Stateville Penitentiary at Joliet, Illinois, USA, where tales of hardened criminals and daring escapes still echo within its walls. Step back in time with John Crowther's 1883 masterpiece capturing the Tower of London, a formidable fortress-turned-prison that witnessed centuries of imprisonment and intrigue. Untitled (27) takes us to Venice's Bridge of Sighs—a symbol of despair for prisoners as they caught their last glimpse of freedom before entering confinement—an enigmatic artwork by an unknown creator from around 1890. Theodore Lane's c1825 depiction reveals the gritty reality inside Fleet Prison in London, where inmates found solace in playing rackets amidst harsh conditions and limited liberties. Journey through time with John Everett Millais' The Order of Release (1746), a poignant portrayal highlighting the struggle for justice and redemption within prison walls during a turbulent era. Explore the notorious Alcatraz Island off San Francisco's coast—the former maximum-security federal prison that held some of America's most dangerous criminals—now transformed into an intriguing tourist destination. Uncover Brixton Purgatory—a chilling glimpse into London's penal system in 1822—where prisoners endured grueling punishment while awaiting their fate behind imposing bars. Delve into the dark past surrounding Millbank Penitentiary—an architectural marvel turned house-of-horrors—whose corridors once echoed with cries for mercy from those trapped within its confines. George Cruikshank's powerful artwork titled The Bottle (1847) sheds light on how addiction led many down a path towards incarceration, exposing society's struggle to address underlying issues rather than simply punishing offenders.