Rossi. Guillaume. 20 ans, né le 8/3/71 à Biel (Italie). Serrurier. Vagabondage. 15/1/95. 1895

This photographic portrait, taken in 1895 by Alphonse Bertillon, is part of the French police's "Bertillonage" system, a method for criminal identification through anthropometry. The photograph features a young man, Guillaume Rossi, a 24 year-old locksmith and vagrant. Bertillon's system, which relied on standardized measurements and mugshots, aimed to establish a unique photographic and biometric record for each individual. This photograph, with its detailed information and stark composition, exemplifies Bertillon's influential photographic technique that dominated criminal identification in Europe at the end of the 19th century.