concept

A prisoner is sitting on straw in a cave with his feet chained to the wall, there are a few provisions on a small shelf in the rock. Etching by R. Blyth after J.H. Mortimer.

Plague in Cape Town: convicts cleansing and disinfecting infected buildings. Drawing by H. Johnson, 1891.

Turkish prisoners sitting in a cell with a barred window; two of them are racing cockroaches. Process print by Meisenbach after H. Lanos after W.T. Maud.

Men and women are prisoners in cells, one man is being tortured by having the soles of his feet beaten with a stick. Wood engraving after G. Durand.

Rangoon, Burma: prisoners working a treadmill in jail. Photograph by Watts & Skeen, 189-.

Pero breast-feeding her father Cimon in prison. Line engraving by J.P. le Bas after N.N. Coypel.

Thirteen male prisoners in India or Burma ("dacoits", bandits) wearing chains around their necks and ankles. Process print.

W.E. Gladstone and other Liberal politicians as prisoners being released from prison; relatives and friends waiting for them at the gate. Colour lithograph by Tom Merry, 18 December 1886.

Blackwell's Island Penitentiary, New York: (left) prisoners are walking in a long file leaving spoons in a bowl as they go  past; (right) prisoners stand in line to receive a loaf of bread. Wood engraving by W.J. Palmer, 1876, after F. Régamay.

Franco-Prussian War: Civil unrest in Paris. Wood engraving.

A fettered Samson sits blind and distraught in a gloomy clearing. Stipple engraving by T. Kirk after R. Westall.

Sick of it! Special edition / a Disability Inside/Outside project.

A prisoner's feet are tied to a pole as a man with a long stick beats the soles of his feet, Persia. Process print by C. Hentschel, 1896, after F. Dadd.

A woman standing manacled to the walls and floor of a gabled cell against a dark and tumultuous background. Watercolour by M. Bishop, 1958.

China: a woman sentenced to execution by strangulation for murdering her husband, being attached to the execution post. Photograph, 19--.

Galleries and Reading Room

Library

Shop

Café

We’re undertaking some research with website visitors to learn more about how people find access-related information provided by museums. This survey shouldn't take longer than 10 minutes to complete. Thank you for your time!

Help us organize our website content.

Prisoners

Images

Catalogue

A fettered Samson sits blind and distraught in a gloomy clearing. Stipple engraving by T. Kirk after R. Westall.

Sick of it! Special edition / a Disability Inside/Outside project.

A prisoner's feet are tied to a pole as a man with a long stick beats the soles of his feet, Persia. Process print by C. Hentschel, 1896, after F. Dadd.

A woman standing manacled to the walls and floor of a gabled cell against a dark and tumultuous background. Watercolour by M. Bishop, 1958.

China: a woman sentenced to execution by strangulation for murdering her husband, being attached to the execution post. Photograph, 19--.