Dead Prisoners’ Tattoos Preserved in Formaldehyde
Around the beginning of the 20th century, in Krakow, Poland, at the Department of Forensic Medicine at Jagiellonian University, a study of prisoners’ tattoos began. While pictures could have perhaps been taken of the tattoos for further study, this was not the method that was employed. Instead, after prisoners had died, their tattooed skin was removed and preserved in formaldehyde. What was determined by the study was that along with the criminal group the person associated with, their character traits, place of residence or past could be determined by the design. The study also found that the sorts of people getting tattoos in prison were those associated with crimes like burglary, rape or prostitution.
(Source: environmentalgraffiti.com)
