High Voltage Photography - Homage to haunted prisons and women who deserved better!
These photographs were taken at Antique Archaeology Nashville, Tennessee where they have a wonderland of industrial machinery on display along with the cutest shops ever. It was the industrial machinery that captivated me obviously.
Each photograph is an original and I’ve matted them with black core matt board and used mixed paper to accent them. The photos themselves are 4” square and they measure 8x8” square matted size. Each piece is unique and ready to frame.
Please find descriptions below – I wanted to pay homage to our dark history a bit so I’ve named these after haunted prisons, scandalous women, and a woman done wrong. I sincerely encourage you to explore our dark history, it’s fascinating and we’d not be here without it.
•
HV01 : Built in 1888, the Maxwell Street Police Station which was also known as the 7thDistrict Police Station or the Terror District in Chicago, Illinois. While there weren’t any executions here obviously, I felt this one earned a mention due to housing some serious mob bodies and an infamous riot in 1914. Plus, Chicago!
HV02 : Built in 1817, Auburn Correctional Facility is the oldest continually running prison and was the first to use an electric chair in 1890. Its first recipient was William Kemmler. Mr. Kemmler was convicted of killing his common law wife with a hatchet or an axe according to records, and he suffered twice due to a botched first electric chair experience - good. Her name was Matilda Ziegler. *this print has an intentional grainy finish to the photograph.
HV03 : Built in 1914, the Beaureguard Parish Prison also known as the Gothic Jail or the more charming moniker, the Hanging Jail, holds quite the haunting record and it’s in New Orleans – total win!
HV04 : Established in 1866, the West Virginia Penitentiary has operational dates of 1876 to 1995 and was the home of ‘Old Sparky’. The electric chair was first used here in 1951 as hanging was the main execution method until 1931 which permitted the public to attend. What really makes this interesting isn’t just the hauntings but that the penitentiary was alluded to have possibly been built near ancient Native American burial grounds of the Adena Tribe – 500 BCE to 100 CE. Wildly interesting place.
HV012 : Everybody knows Alcatraz! Despite no executions having taken place on the island, the haunting rumors abound so it has a place here. *this print has an intentional grainy finish to the photograph.
HV013 : Missouri State Penitentiary operated from 1836 to 2004.While they used the gas chamber for executions, in 1967 Time Magazine called it the “bloodiest 47 acres in America” and that’s why it’s included here.
HV030 : The Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, PA was open from 1829 until 1971 but never held any executions. However, its painted history landed a place here. I chose this image due to the one word ‘theatre’ as the plethora of varied hauntings remind me of a Grand Guignol play. This is the first facility to be called a penitentiary and had a few famous prisoners such as Charles Dickens, Al Capone, and the deadliest of them all, Pep known as Inmate C-2559 and was a canine. Pep was incarcerated in 1924 for killing a cat but was finally pardoned in 1929. A fun fact was that they had prison tourists as early as 1858.
HV035 : May Ruth Snyder, born 1815 and died by electric chair in Sing Sing Prison, New York, 1928 for murdering her husband. What really carved her way here is that she was the first person ever to be photographed during an execution by electric chair in 1928. For the execution, reporter Tom Howard snuck in a camera and made history for the New York Daily News. May Ruth is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, NY.
HV023 : The glamorous Ruth Ellis was born in 1926 and hanged in 1955, Holloway Prison, London after a most, shall we say, colorful history. She was the last woman to be hanged in England and quite wrongly so. While she did kill racecar driver David Blakely, it was an abusive relationship on his part. Two quotes from Ruth, the first during the trial and the second to Blakely’s parents’ days before she was hanged- "It's obvious when I shot him I intended to kill him." and "I have always loved your son, and I shall die still loving him."
Ruth was buried in an unmarked grave at Holloway Prison but in the early 1970s, the remains of women who had been executed there were exhumed for reburial – and rightly so. Ruth’s remains are now buried in the churchyard of St. Mary’s Church in Amersham, Buckinghamshire and reads “Ruth Hornby 1926-1955”.
*this print has an intentional grainy finish to the photograph.
These photographs were taken at Antique Archaeology Nashville, Tennessee where they have a wonderland of industrial machinery on display along with the cutest shops ever. It was the industrial machinery that captivated me obviously.
Each photograph is an original and I’ve matted them with black core matt board and used mixed paper to accent them. The photos themselves are 4” square and they measure 8x8” square matted size. Each piece is unique and ready to frame.
Please find descriptions below – I wanted to pay homage to our dark history a bit so I’ve named these after haunted prisons, scandalous women, and a woman done wrong. I sincerely encourage you to explore our dark history, it’s fascinating and we’d not be here without it.
•
HV01 : Built in 1888, the Maxwell Street Police Station which was also known as the 7thDistrict Police Station or the Terror District in Chicago, Illinois. While there weren’t any executions here obviously, I felt this one earned a mention due to housing some serious mob bodies and an infamous riot in 1914. Plus, Chicago!
HV02 : Built in 1817, Auburn Correctional Facility is the oldest continually running prison and was the first to use an electric chair in 1890. Its first recipient was William Kemmler. Mr. Kemmler was convicted of killing his common law wife with a hatchet or an axe according to records, and he suffered twice due to a botched first electric chair experience - good. Her name was Matilda Ziegler. *this print has an intentional grainy finish to the photograph.
HV03 : Built in 1914, the Beaureguard Parish Prison also known as the Gothic Jail or the more charming moniker, the Hanging Jail, holds quite the haunting record and it’s in New Orleans – total win!
HV04 : Established in 1866, the West Virginia Penitentiary has operational dates of 1876 to 1995 and was the home of ‘Old Sparky’. The electric chair was first used here in 1951 as hanging was the main execution method until 1931 which permitted the public to attend. What really makes this interesting isn’t just the hauntings but that the penitentiary was alluded to have possibly been built near ancient Native American burial grounds of the Adena Tribe – 500 BCE to 100 CE. Wildly interesting place.
HV012 : Everybody knows Alcatraz! Despite no executions having taken place on the island, the haunting rumors abound so it has a place here. *this print has an intentional grainy finish to the photograph.
HV013 : Missouri State Penitentiary operated from 1836 to 2004.While they used the gas chamber for executions, in 1967 Time Magazine called it the “bloodiest 47 acres in America” and that’s why it’s included here.
HV030 : The Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, PA was open from 1829 until 1971 but never held any executions. However, its painted history landed a place here. I chose this image due to the one word ‘theatre’ as the plethora of varied hauntings remind me of a Grand Guignol play. This is the first facility to be called a penitentiary and had a few famous prisoners such as Charles Dickens, Al Capone, and the deadliest of them all, Pep known as Inmate C-2559 and was a canine. Pep was incarcerated in 1924 for killing a cat but was finally pardoned in 1929. A fun fact was that they had prison tourists as early as 1858.
HV035 : May Ruth Snyder, born 1815 and died by electric chair in Sing Sing Prison, New York, 1928 for murdering her husband. What really carved her way here is that she was the first person ever to be photographed during an execution by electric chair in 1928. For the execution, reporter Tom Howard snuck in a camera and made history for the New York Daily News. May Ruth is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, NY.
HV023 : The glamorous Ruth Ellis was born in 1926 and hanged in 1955, Holloway Prison, London after a most, shall we say, colorful history. She was the last woman to be hanged in England and quite wrongly so. While she did kill racecar driver David Blakely, it was an abusive relationship on his part. Two quotes from Ruth, the first during the trial and the second to Blakely’s parents’ days before she was hanged- "It's obvious when I shot him I intended to kill him." and "I have always loved your son, and I shall die still loving him."
Ruth was buried in an unmarked grave at Holloway Prison but in the early 1970s, the remains of women who had been executed there were exhumed for reburial – and rightly so. Ruth’s remains are now buried in the churchyard of St. Mary’s Church in Amersham, Buckinghamshire and reads “Ruth Hornby 1926-1955”.
*this print has an intentional grainy finish to the photograph.
These photographs were taken at Antique Archaeology Nashville, Tennessee where they have a wonderland of industrial machinery on display along with the cutest shops ever. It was the industrial machinery that captivated me obviously.
Each photograph is an original and I’ve matted them with black core matt board and used mixed paper to accent them. The photos themselves are 4” square and they measure 8x8” square matted size. Each piece is unique and ready to frame.
Please find descriptions below – I wanted to pay homage to our dark history a bit so I’ve named these after haunted prisons, scandalous women, and a woman done wrong. I sincerely encourage you to explore our dark history, it’s fascinating and we’d not be here without it.
•
HV01 : Built in 1888, the Maxwell Street Police Station which was also known as the 7thDistrict Police Station or the Terror District in Chicago, Illinois. While there weren’t any executions here obviously, I felt this one earned a mention due to housing some serious mob bodies and an infamous riot in 1914. Plus, Chicago!
HV02 : Built in 1817, Auburn Correctional Facility is the oldest continually running prison and was the first to use an electric chair in 1890. Its first recipient was William Kemmler. Mr. Kemmler was convicted of killing his common law wife with a hatchet or an axe according to records, and he suffered twice due to a botched first electric chair experience - good. Her name was Matilda Ziegler. *this print has an intentional grainy finish to the photograph.
HV03 : Built in 1914, the Beaureguard Parish Prison also known as the Gothic Jail or the more charming moniker, the Hanging Jail, holds quite the haunting record and it’s in New Orleans – total win!
HV04 : Established in 1866, the West Virginia Penitentiary has operational dates of 1876 to 1995 and was the home of ‘Old Sparky’. The electric chair was first used here in 1951 as hanging was the main execution method until 1931 which permitted the public to attend. What really makes this interesting isn’t just the hauntings but that the penitentiary was alluded to have possibly been built near ancient Native American burial grounds of the Adena Tribe – 500 BCE to 100 CE. Wildly interesting place.
HV012 : Everybody knows Alcatraz! Despite no executions having taken place on the island, the haunting rumors abound so it has a place here. *this print has an intentional grainy finish to the photograph.
HV013 : Missouri State Penitentiary operated from 1836 to 2004.While they used the gas chamber for executions, in 1967 Time Magazine called it the “bloodiest 47 acres in America” and that’s why it’s included here.
HV030 : The Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, PA was open from 1829 until 1971 but never held any executions. However, its painted history landed a place here. I chose this image due to the one word ‘theatre’ as the plethora of varied hauntings remind me of a Grand Guignol play. This is the first facility to be called a penitentiary and had a few famous prisoners such as Charles Dickens, Al Capone, and the deadliest of them all, Pep known as Inmate C-2559 and was a canine. Pep was incarcerated in 1924 for killing a cat but was finally pardoned in 1929. A fun fact was that they had prison tourists as early as 1858.
HV035 : May Ruth Snyder, born 1815 and died by electric chair in Sing Sing Prison, New York, 1928 for murdering her husband. What really carved her way here is that she was the first person ever to be photographed during an execution by electric chair in 1928. For the execution, reporter Tom Howard snuck in a camera and made history for the New York Daily News. May Ruth is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, NY.
HV023 : The glamorous Ruth Ellis was born in 1926 and hanged in 1955, Holloway Prison, London after a most, shall we say, colorful history. She was the last woman to be hanged in England and quite wrongly so. While she did kill racecar driver David Blakely, it was an abusive relationship on his part. Two quotes from Ruth, the first during the trial and the second to Blakely’s parents’ days before she was hanged- "It's obvious when I shot him I intended to kill him." and "I have always loved your son, and I shall die still loving him."
Ruth was buried in an unmarked grave at Holloway Prison but in the early 1970s, the remains of women who had been executed there were exhumed for reburial – and rightly so. Ruth’s remains are now buried in the churchyard of St. Mary’s Church in Amersham, Buckinghamshire and reads “Ruth Hornby 1926-1955”.
*this print has an intentional grainy finish to the photograph.