Historical Documents Online: Search Hints for Selected Topics

Prisons

Selected Photographs of the McNeil Island Penitentiary, 1890 - 1981
74 photographs from this series have been digitized. The series includes graphic prints and scrapbooks of McNeil Island Penitentiary depicting the physical layout, specialized buildings, prison boats, water projects, construction in various stages of completion, and aerial photographs of the penitentiary and island. Also included are early photographs of historical interest such as photographs of wardens, guards, staff, and visiting dignitaries. These documents are held by NARA's Pacific Alaska Region (Seattle, WA).
Search Hint: To retrieve the 74 digitized photographs:
1. Go to http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/.
2. Press the Yellow search button to go to the Archival Descriptions Search screen.
3. To search only for archival descriptions that have digital copies, click the Digital Copies search button at the top of the ARC pages.
4. Enter McNeil Island in the Keywords box.
5. Select the limit results radio button for 100.
6. Press the Go button.
7. When hits are returned for your search, view the full result of your hit by selecting the Title link.
From the Collection:

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ARC Identifier: 299516, Title: "Inside view of Old #1 cell house, 08/14/1935"

Selected Documents Relating to the U.S. Penitentiary on Alcatraz Island
41 multi-page documents relating to the U.S. Penitentiary on Alcatraz Island, California, have been digitized. Among the digitized documents are selected pages from the Warden's notebook, including "mug shots". Also included are architectural and engineering drawings of an electrical door locking and operating device. These materials are held by NARA's Pacific Region (San Bruno, CA).
Search Hint: To retrieve the 41 digitized documents:
1. Go to http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/.
2. Press the Yellow search button to go to the Archival Descriptions Search screen.
3. To search only for archival descriptions that have digital copies, click the Digital Copies search button at the top of the ARC pages.
4. Enter Alcatraz in the Keywords box.
5. Select the limit results radio button for 100.
6. Press the Go button.
7. When hits are returned for your search, view the full result of your hit by selecting the Title link.
From the Collection:

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ARC Identifier: 296722, Title: "Warden's notebook page, with "mug shot," of Robert Stroud, 594-AZ, aka 'The Birdman of Alcatraz.', 1942 - 1942?"