The Anthropometric File of Anarchists, or more precisely, the Anthropometric Photographs of Anarchists, is a collection of hundreds of police photographs of anarchists in France. These were taken by Alphonse Bertillon and his department between the late 1880s and the 1890s.

As of 2026, the photographs are divided between the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) and the Archives de la préfecture de police de Paris. The entire MET collection is accessible and in the public domain.

These documents are valuable for the history of anarchism, the history of the development of police practices, and are also considered works of art. They figure among the earliest police mugshots in history.

Anthropometric photographs of anarchists

History In the closing decades of the 19th century, the French police underwent a series of transformations that led to the birth of a specific French forensic police. A significant part of this evolution was the arrival of Alphonse Bertillon at the Paris Police Prefecture in 1879. Bertillon gradually developed a filing system known as Bertillonage, also called judicial anthropometry. This innovative system was based on taking a specific number of measurements and photographs of individuals, which was intended to improve the identification of suspects or those on file.

During this same period, anarchists were developing the strategy of propaganda of the deed, with some engaging in terrorist actions targeting political or financial figures they deemed responsible for the significant repression they faced.

The convergence of these two dynamics, among other factors—especially during the period the press dubbed the Ère des attentats (1892-1894)—gave Bertillon increasing authority and credibility to file anarchists using his new methods. Between 1889 and 1894, hundreds of anarchists in France were documented upon arrest or during police raids, often being released shortly after in the latter case. These images are among the earliest police mugshots in history.

Bertillon's photographs of anarchists were studied by Italian criminologist Cesare Lombroso, an advocate of the pseudoscience of physiognomy, that social traits are visible in facial features. Lombroso claimed in 1891, "Out of forty-one Parisian Anarchists that I have studied with Bertillon at the office of the police of Paris, the proportion of the criminal type was 31 per cent."

Current status As of 2025, the photographs are divided between the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) in New York City (417) and the Archives de la préfecture de police de Paris (462) in file Yb 28. Since 2017, the MET authorizes the use and dissemination of its works that have fallen into the public domain, which concern the entirety of its anthropometric collection of anarchists.

List Following is an alphabetical list of anarchists found in these collections who have a Wikipedia page – their photographs, the anarchist tendencies they can be associated with, and other relevant information about them.

The indication "Arch. pol." means that the photograph exists but is part of the Archives de la préfecture de police de Paris collections and requires express authorization for its publication. PhotographNameGenderProfessionNotable elementsDateAgeAdnet ClotildeFembroiderer illegalist anarchist counterfeiter7 January 189419Adnet Jeanneseamstress illegalist anarchist8 January 189423Bastard ÉliséeMbutcher anarchist from the northern suburbs of Paris/Saint-Denis Close to Philogone Segard and radical Accused of the Trial of the Thirty189322Beaulieu Henriaccountant individualist anarchist notable antimilitarist25 May 189423Bertani Orsiniunemployed illegalist anarchist member of the Ortiz gang Accused of the Trial of the Thirty18 March 189424Arch. pol.Bligny Aimélocksmith organizer of several meetings and groups in the Paris eastern suburbsMarch 189459Bordes Augustewaiter anarchist son of Gustave Auguste Bordes One of the youngest of the collection15Borreman LéontineFsinger/sex worker (?) active as a regular singer in the cabaret of Duprat and Pioger23Brunet GeorgesMcarpenter syndicalist anarchist Accused at the Trial of the Thirty4 February 189425Arch. pol.Caserio Santebaker Italian anarchist Responsible for the assassination of Sadi Carnot28 June 189421Arch. pol.30 June 1894Cazal AntoinetteFserver Member of the Ortiz gang Accused at the Trial of the Thirty28 February 189431Chiericotti PaoloMshoemaker notable illegalist anarchist of the Ortiz gang eventually implicated in the Berthe bombing Sentenced to 8 years in deportation to a penal colony at the Trial of the Thirty25 March 189436Cler Henricabinetmaker syndicalist anarchist Killed by the French police in 191014 March 189431Arch. pol.Collot EugénieFupholsterer syndicalist and feminist anarchist "significant" figure of the period11 March 189436Decker JosephMtailor syndicalist anarchist Member of numerous groups9 March 189446Duprat Louis syndicalist anarchist His wine shop became a gathering place for anarchists in France27 April 189437Etiévant Henritypographer anarchist and brother of Georges Etiévant support of propaganda by the deed4 March 189432Faure Sébastienjournalist important thinker of anarchism controversial figure due to his child sexual abuse cases20 February 189436Fénéon Félixart critic notable anarchist of that period Accused at the Trial of the ThirtyMay 189432Forti ErnestaFdairy worker Italian anarchist owning a dairy shop who serves as a gathering place Partner of Constant Martin27 February 189446Arch. pol.François Jean-PierreMcarpenter individualist and illegalist anarchist implicated in the Véry bombing1889 ?335 March 189438Galau Louiscatwright notable anarchist of the period, friends with Charles 'Cookie' Simon His seven children join the anarchist movement for the most part21 August 189353Grave Jeanjournalist major figure of anarchist communism nicknamed the 'pope of the Mouffetard street'9 January 189438Gordon Maxusher Lithuanian nihilist and anarchist2 July 189439Henry Émileaccountant individualist anarchist responsible for several bombings important figure of the history of terrorism1890–189417–21Arch. pol.Jas-Béala Josephmechanic accomplice of Ravachol for the Saint-Germain bombing26 March 189227Léger Charlesgardener arrested in 1894 in possession of explosive materials4 July 189416Léveillé Louislocksmith victim of the Clichy affair7 July 189436Luce Maximilienpainter Illustrator of Le Père Peinard6 July 189436Malatesta Erricoworker major anarchist communist theorician and activist expulsed from France in August-September 18921880s–1890s26–40Arch. pol.Malato Charlesjournalist notable French anarchist of the period29 April 189032Mahler Jacobsaddler German and French anarchist Dies in dubious circumstances while in police custody10 March 189461Mathieu Gustaveworker Illegalist close to Placide Schouppe Very close to Ravachol and part of Ravachol's group One of the most wanted people in France in 18921890-1893 ?24-27Arch. pol.1889 ?23 ?Arch. pol.Arch. pol.Arch. pol.Arch. pol.Marie Constantshoemaker Communard, chansonnier and notable figure of anarchism in France2 July 189453Arch. pol.Meunier Théodulecabinetmaker Responsible for the Lobau bombing and the Véry bombing189232Arch. pol.Same ?32 ?Arch. pol.Ortiz Léonaccountant Son of Eva Schiroky illegalist anarchist member of the Ortiz gang Sentenced to fifteen years of penal servitude at the Trial of the Thirty Collaborated with French authorities18942518 March 1894Arch. pol.Pauwels Désirétanner Belgian anarchist close to Émile Henry Responsible for the 20 February bombings and the Madeleine bombing22 July 1891 ?27Arch. pol.22 July 1891Arch. pol.Arch. pol.Pelgrom ÉliseFpassementerie worker Belgian illegalist anarchist Linked to the Intransigents of London and Paris22 February 189328Arch. pol.Arch. pol.Perrare AntoineMmechanic Communard leader who joins the Anti-authoritarian international on its inception One of the first anarcho-communists, linked to Peter Kropotkin and Jean Grave10 July 189453Arch. pol.Pini Vittorioworker Italian individualist anarchist One of the founders of illegalism20 June 188929Arch. pol.Same ?Arch. pol.Pouget Émilepublicist Close to Louise Michel Organizer of Le Père Peinard Precursor of anarcho-syndicalism26 April 189431Arch. pol.Ravachol Françoisdyer One of the most famous French anarchists Responsible for the Saint-Germain and Clichy bombings (Ère des attentats)27 April 189233Reclus Paulengineer notable anarchist communist Son of anarchist activist Élie Reclus and nephew of Élisée Reclus His wife, Marguerite Wapler, financed the National Assembly bombing23 December 189335Schiroky EvaFcook implicated but ultimately freed for activities related to the Ortiz gang Mother of Léon Ortiz21 March 189454Segard ÉmilienMhouse painter anarchist from Saint-Denis son of Philogone Segard189418Segard Philogoneropemaker radical anarchist from the Saint-Denis/northern suburbs of Paris Implicated or in link with several propaganda of the deed attempts or actions Victim of the Clichy affair23 April 189444Schouppe Placidemechanic notable illegalist anarchist escapes from the penal colony two times, including one with Vittorio Pini (1891)188931Arch. polArch. polArch. polArch. polSchrader AppolineFartist active in Parisian artistic circles possibly a police informant24 March 189419Arch. pol.Soubère RosalieNewspaper distributor Accomplice of Ravachol in the Saint-Germain bombing26 March 189224Soubrié FrançoisMminer socialist figure before joining anarchism Acquitted at the Trial of the Thirty4 March 189439Soubrier AnnetteFpoultry sellerillegalist anarchist member of the Ortiz gang Accused at the Trial of the Thirty25 March 189428Spannagel ÉmileMlocksmith notable illegalist anarchist founder of the Spannagel gang7 July 189420Trucano VictorinaFhatmakerillegalist anarchist member of the Ortiz gang Accused at the Trial of the Thirty19 March 189454Zanini Mariaseamstress18 March 189428Zisly HenriMrailway worker individualist anarchist Promoter of Naturian circles26 February 189421Arch. pol.

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