Pinkerton National Detective Agency

Pinkerton National Detective Agency, original vintage reward poster reading in part: "$500.00 Reward - Forgers Wanted - Arthur Buford Crouch / Mrs. Margaret Buchanan / Pinkerton's National Detective Agency, Dallas, Texas, April 22, 1916."

Pinkerton, founded as the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, is a private security guard and detective agency established in the United States by Allan Pinkerton in 1850 and currently a subsidiary of Securitas AB. Pinkerton became famous when he claimed to have foiled a plot to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln, who later hired Pinkerton agents for his personal security during the Civil War. Pinkerton's agents performed services ranging from security guarding to private military contracting work. Pinkerton was the largest private law enforcement organization in the world at the height of its power. By the early 1890s, the Pinkerton National Detective Agency employed more agents than there were members of the standing army of the United States of America. 

From the collection of Police Chief Michael Webb (1950-2009). Webb joined the Vinita Park, Missouri police force in 1974 and served until his death in 2009, during which time he purchased crime artifacts from relatives of criminals and law officers. Boasting more than 8,000 wanted posters, pieces of Webb’s collection have been featured in film and displayed at the National Crime and Punishment Museum in Washington.

Measuring approximately 8 x 10, the sheet is in very good condition showing light fold marks and original handwritten docket notations on verso.