MONTEREY CA POLICE DEPT. ARCHIVE 1950s and 1960s SCRAPBOOKS PHOTO ALBUMS

Item #1464

Exceptional two-volume photo archive documenting the Monterey, California Police Department during a pivotal period in mid-century law enforcement. Compiled internally, the collection spans the 1950s through early 1960s and contains over 180 original black-and-white photographs, news clippings, and internal records. This archive offers a rare window into a West Coast department’s evolution in the postwar era, with strong visual content related to early narcotics busts, vice raids, and community policing.

Highlights include:

• Early Narcotics Enforcement:
Striking images of Marijuana, heroin, opium seizures, with detailed views of labeled evidence bags, seized coins, and paraphernalia. One image shows an officer examining bags labeled “U.S. Mint Denver $50 – 1956 – Cents”, potentially from a drug-related seizure, posed in front of a wall marked “OPIUM PIPES.” These images predate the formal DEA and document the pre-BNDD narcotics efforts at the local level.

• Pinball & Slot Machine Raids:
Related clippings describe the destruction of illegal gambling devices, including the ceremonial burning of confiscated pinball machines, slot machines, and other vice-related contraband. One clipping ("Good By Boatworks – Sept. 18, 1956") discusses Monterey police receiving permission to burn down the China Point Boatworks, a site long associated with vice and gambling. A named officer, Frank Marinello, is described as having helped torch the building he once patrolled.

• Named Officers & Staff Portraits:
Dozens of posed desk and field portraits, many captioned with names and titles, including Chief Charles E. Simpson, Assistant Chief Frank G. Marinello, Capt. James Rodriguez, Inspectors, jailers, motorcycle officers, and PBX operators. Several early female officers and policewomen are featured, including Dianne P. Eccher, Nancy Sokolich, and Elaine M. Hannon on a 3-wheeled Harley.

• Crime Scene & Jail Documentation:
Action scenes showing officers booking prisoners, escorting suspects, responding to car crashes, and conducting field arrests. Also includes jail interior photos, street scenes with patrol cars, officers on motorcycles, and community engagement moments.

• Original Aerial Photos of Monterey and local landmarks are present, alongside candid snapshots of accident responses, traffic detail, and burglary scenes.

• Photographer Attribution:
Multiple prints are stamped or signed by William L. Morgan and Rey Ruppel, noted Monterey photographers.

Some photos measure 4” x 5,” while others are larger, with several 8” x 10” photos. They are attached to the page with tape, staples and/or corner tabs. At least one photo is glued to the page. Some of the pages are brittle, a handful of photos are missing and a few pages are detached.

Price: $1,500.00