Coudry. Hubert, Louis. 24 ans, né à Paris XVe. Corroyeur. Anarchiste. 7/3/94. 1894

Alphonse Bertillon made this mugshot of Louis Coudry in 1894. It’s a photograph mounted on card stock, part of an archive of images intended to document and classify criminals and other perceived deviants. Coudry’s image is inscribed with his name, age, profession, and political affiliation: Anarchist. In late 19th-century France, anarchism was a spectre haunting the bourgeoisie, and any perceived threat to the social order was swiftly punished. The state saw anarchists as emblematic of a dangerous underclass. Bertillon’s photographs attempted to codify and control this threat. This mugshot reduces Coudry to a set of data points. Yet, within the starkness of the image, we see a trace of the individual. The slightly defiant gaze, the unkempt hair, and the very act of being labeled remind us of the human cost of social control. The photograph becomes a testament to resistance, a quiet act of defiance against the system that sought to erase individuality.