Fingerprint Box

Wooden index card file boxes like this were used throughout the FBI (and federal government overall) to store various sets of index cards. The set in this box came from the Latent Fingerprint Section of the FBI Laboratory and contained copies of latent fingerprints taken from various bank robbery cases.

Wooden index card file boxes were used throughout the FBI (and federal government overall) to store sets of index cards. The set in this box came from the FBI Laboratory's Latent Fingerprint Section and contains copies of latent fingerprints taken from bank robbery cases.

Wooden index card file boxes were used throughout the FBI (and the federal government overall) to store sets of index cards.

The set in this box came from the FBI Laboratory's Latent Fingerprint Section and contains copies of latent fingerprints taken from bank robberies in multiple states, starting with Alabama and ending with Maine. There are several sub-categories for major cities in California. FBI personnel used indicators like these to group similar kinds of information for comparison, analysis, and easy reference.

The card to the right of the file box is an example of what these cards look like. This 4x6 card—with prints from a bank robbery in Kentucky in the 1980s—shows:

  • FBI HQ Case number: 91-104097c
  • Document serial number: 24462
  • Laboratory Division case identification number: 112987200
  • Lab-assigned number: 17-53

Complete list of artifacts