[photograph, cdv] Forger and Saloon Keeper Joseph L English

[no place of publication stated]: Pinkerton National Detective Agency, 1894. Very Good. 4 x 2 5/8 inches. Photograph affixed to card. On rear is paste-on "Form 55-2-'92-1 M" with printed form on verso with inked in attributes. Several penciled notations. A touch of rubbing to the image. Writing on verso dark and easily readable. Details the arrest of Joseph L. English in Des Moines Iowa in April 1894.

"Fakes, Grafts, and Swindles Exposed" by Col J. Alfred McCurry (1899) connects Joseph L. English with Karl Becker and his gang. "A Rare One.—Karl Becker Was the Premier in His Branch of Villainy.—A Mighty "Jim the Penman." documents the gang (truncated) on pp 51-54., how the gang operated, building a solid reputation with a bank and then obtaining bank drafts that were real, forging by the use of chemicals and other mechanisms a much larger amount and swindling others out of their money. The narrative reads: "In all this time Becker would never have seen either the capitallist or the business man. In this way Becker and his pals, secured millions of dollars, not only in the United States, but all over Europe and in South America. 'The original gang, which was the greatest on earth, was composed of Karl Becker, Robert Bowman, Joseph L. English, James Creegan, and Richard Lennox'" It goes on to note where each has been caught or is thought to be as of that writing. "Joseph L. English is serving a term in the Iowa penetentiary for a forgery committed in Des Moines. (Inventory #: 29455)