| Author | Message | ||
     Ernie Hamm |
Police agencies were using dusting techniques, as well as chemical ones, by the 1920's as evidenced by the following information from a training course in 1925: “An address by Frank V. Martinkek, Identification Inspector, Chicago Civil Service Board, at the Chicago Association of Detective Sergeants, November 17, 1916” He discusses the use of powder techniques in developing latent prints on a variety of surfaces. He also mentions a meeting of the International Identification Outlook in January 1916 in which methods for lifting powder prints was discussed by a Fresno, California expert. | ||
| Webmaster |
Yes. Contaminated prints deposited in dirt, grease, paint, blood, etc., wood have required only observation and photography. If the wood were sealed with varnish or otherwise rendered non-porous, police in the 1920's would probably have "dusted" for prints. If the wood were untreated, they would have processed it similar to other porous surfaces such as paper. Iodine fumes were used to develop prints on porous surfaces as early as 1920. Reference: Mitchell, C.A., "The Detection of Fingerprints on Documents," Analyst, vol. 45 (1920), page 122. | ||
| Henry O'Keefe |
I'm writting a book and need your help. |
