Research Catalog

Pinkerton's National Detective Agency records, 1853-1999, letterpress books and miscellaneous reports.

Title
Pinkerton's National Detective Agency records, 1853-1999, letterpress books and miscellaneous reports.
Publication
[Place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], 1853-1920.

Available Online

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Details

Description
1 online resource (9 manuscripts (1,076 items, 3,295 pages)).
Summary
This collection contains records from the Pinkerton Detective Agency. Founded in 1850, the agency's founder Allan Pinkerton became famous for discovering a plot to kill President Abraham Lincoln. As the agency grew, it participated in several significant events in American history. Pinkerton served as head of the Union Intelligence Service during the Civil War, located the culprits of the first recorded train robbery, prevented looting after the Great Fire in Chicago, and caught outlaws such as Jesse James, Butch Cassidy, the Reno Brothers, and the Wild Bunch. The agency later became known for strikebreaking and anti-Union activities on behalf of private employers. These records detail the running of Pinkerton's New York Office from 1865 to 1875, a period in which the agency was protecting Midwestern railways and establishing its reputation on the frontier. The collection contains a daily journal of the New York office from October 27, 1865 to March 26, 1866 and Allan Pinkerton's correspondence with George H. Bangs, the General Superintendent of the New York office from February 7, 1869 to December 31, 1870. There are also miscellaneous investigation records and reports. Journals record union meetings, note the names and activities of union leaders, and report conversations with political candidates about union activities.
Series Statement
Crime, Punishment, and Popular Culture, 1790-1920
Uniform Title
Crime, Punishment, and Popular Culture, 1790-1920.
Subject
  • Pinkerton, Allan, 1819-1884
  • Pinkerton's National Detective Agency
  • Criminal investigation > United States
  • Prive investigators > United States
  • Crime > United States
Note
  • Date range of documents: 1853-1920.
  • Source institution: Library of Congress.
OCLC
  • 937021706
  • CPPC04084
Title
Pinkerton's National Detective Agency records, 1853-1999, letterpress books and miscellaneous reports.
Publisher
[Place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], 1853-1920.
Type of Content
text
Type of Medium
computer
Type of Carrier
online resource
Series
Crime, Punishment, and Popular Culture, 1790-1920
Crime, Punishment, and Popular Culture, 1790-1920.
Local Note
Images from the source libraries are selected contents of the original collection materials as representative of their value and pertinence to the digital product.
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