The image for this particular criminal portrait is unfortunately very faint, having faded since it was taken in 1872. Remarkably, a closer inspection of the image reveals most of a fingerprint near the centre of the photograph, probably a vestige from the original glass negative.
The subject is William Allan who was given seven years penal servitude for theft by housebreaking on 21st September 1866. The Aberdeen Journal of 26th September that year reports Allan's appearance in court as follows: "William Allan (19) Aberdeen, was next charged with theft by housebreaking, in having on the 16th or 17th of August last stolen 20s. and a wooden box belonging to Mrs. Simpson, a widow, residing in the Spital. Allan had been five times previously convicted of theft in the Police and Sheriff Courts. The prisoner pleaded not guilty and the case went to trial. After a short proof, the jury unanimously found the prisoner guilty as libelled".
The page in the Register of Returned Convicts for Aberdeen (see below) on which Allan's picture is pasted states that he reported to the police only once following his release, on the 23rd April 1872. His subsequent fate is a sad one as he is detailed as being, "Sent to the infirmary and lost his eyesight from venereal disease".
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