Small Town Noir
Small Town Noir is an interesting site that combines police mug shots with their corresponding newspaper stories. Taken in New Castle, Pennsylvania, between 1930 – 1959, each person’s story is reconstructed by Diarmid Mogg using news stories (mostly copies of the local paper, the New Castle News).
Picture above is John H. Hutchinson, who was arrested for forgery in 1948. Prior to his arrest, he had been a decorated veteran, fighting Nazis in Europe and earning both a purple heart and cluster. Not only was his turn to crime surprising, but how his story ends was also a surprise as well.
It’s less the grit and grime of this site that I find attractive. What draws me in is not so much the noir, but the small town aspect. Seeing glimpses of another’s life, and the decisions they did or didn’t make.
[via Ektopia]
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Thanks for the write-up – I appreciate it!
Diarmid Mogg (September 23, 2010 at 4:51 am)