Alicante. Philibert. 33 ans, né à Seire (Seine & Oise). Coupeur de talons. Anarchiste. 7/3/94. 1894

This mugshot of Alicante Philibert was taken in 1894 by Alphonse Bertillon, the French criminologist and photographer who invented the mugshot. Bertillon’s photographic archive encapsulates a time when anxieties about class, immigration, and political dissidence gripped Europe. Philibert, here, is not just an anonymous face; the inscription tells us he was 33 years old, a 'coupeur de talons'—likely a shoe heel cutter—born in Seire, and, crucially, an anarchist. In late 19th century France, anarchism was viewed as a significant threat to social order. Bertillon’s photographs were part of a larger effort to categorize and control individuals deemed ‘undesirable’ by the state. The cool detachment of the image belies the intense emotions and political turmoil of the era. What does it mean to reduce a person to a set of measurements and a label? The mugshot is a stark reminder of how easily identity can be both constructed and constrained by the systems of power.