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ID #SA1161616
FOR SALE
£245
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An Early 20th Century Liverpool City Police Cid Fingerprint Kit
For sale by Rob Hall Antiques
for sale €287     $311
£245

Rob Hall Antiques

Sellingantiques Verified Since Aug 2025
Browse dealers 38 items
Id #SA1161616
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An Early 20th Century Liverpool City Police Cid Fingerprint Kit

1900 - 1920
Description

A rare surviving example of an early 20th century fingerprint kit of Liverpool City Police in its original leather case. The case retains all three bottles for fingerprint powder, ink stamp and fingerprint brush.

This particular type of kit was used by detectives from the Criminal Investigation Department.

English, Liverpool, Early 20th century

Date of Manufacture

Rob Hall Antiques has dated this Antique Police Fingerprint Kit to the 1920s.

Independent Date Guide ID 09131312
Dealer's Item Date1920s
Sellingantiques Date1920s
Sellingantiques agingItem 85-110 years old
ResultsDates match
Why Sellingantiques dated this piece to THE 1920s:
Gilt crest on the leather cover: Liverpool City Police insignia.
Threaded aluminium caps on the bottles: packaging practice introduced in the 1920s.
Dusting brush with pinned metal ferrule: standard early crime-scene equipment.
Residual silver dusting powder across the lining: honest police service use.

This Independent Date Guide was compiled by Sellingantiques using its own proprietary system. It works only from the photographs shown on this page and is never told the date the dealer has declared. It is a guide, not a guarantee of age, and occasional errors can occur.

Reference Numbers
Sellingantiques Reference
SA1161616
Description
A rare surviving example of an early 20th century fingerprint kit of Liverpool City Police in its original leather case. The case retains all three bottles for fingerprint powder, ink stamp and fingerprint brush.

This particular type of kit was used by detectives from the Criminal Investigation Department.

English, Liverpool, Early 20th century

Date of Manufacture

Rob Hall Antiques has dated this Antique Police Fingerprint Kit to the 1920s.

Independent Date Report ID 09131312
Dealer's Item Date1920s
Sellingantiques dating1920s
Sellingantiques agingItem 85-110 years old
ResultsDates match
Why Sellingantiques dated this piece to the 1920s:
Gilt crest on the leather cover: Liverpool City Police insignia.
Threaded aluminium caps on the bottles: packaging practice introduced in the 1920s.
Dusting brush with pinned metal ferrule: standard early crime-scene equipment.
Residual silver dusting powder across the lining: honest police service use.

This is an independent date report produced by Sellingantiques using its own proprietary system. The process uses the photographs shown on this page. The system is never told the date the dealer has declared. This report shows that the two dates corroborate.

Reference Numbers
Sellingantiques Ref
SA1161616
Rob Hall Antiques
Sellingantiques verified Since Aug 2025
Dealer Profile

You can view the stock and full dealer information on the Rob Hall Antiques Profile Page

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An open early 20th century tan leather field pouch containing fingerprint dusting brushes, glass powder jars, and metal tins.
1 / 9
Archive I An open early 20th century tan leather field pouch containing fingerprint dusting brushes, glass powder jars, and metal tins.

An Early 20th Century Liverpool City Police Cid Fingerprint Kit

Archive II An open early 20th century tan leather field pouch containing fingerprint dusting brushes, glass powder jars, and metal tins. View II
Archive III An open early 20th century tan leather field pouch containing fingerprint dusting brushes, glass powder jars, and metal tins. View III
Archive IV An open early 20th century tan leather field pouch containing fingerprint dusting brushes, glass powder jars, and metal tins. View IV
Archive V An open early 20th century tan leather field pouch containing fingerprint dusting brushes, glass powder jars, and metal tins. View V
Archive VI An open early 20th century tan leather field pouch containing fingerprint dusting brushes, glass powder jars, and metal tins. View VI
Archive VII An open early 20th century tan leather field pouch containing fingerprint dusting brushes, glass powder jars, and metal tins. View VII
Archive VIII An open early 20th century tan leather field pouch containing fingerprint dusting brushes, glass powder jars, and metal tins. View VIII
Archive IX An open early 20th century tan leather field pouch containing fingerprint dusting brushes, glass powder jars, and metal tins. View IX
Enlarged Archival View

Rob Hall Antiques
Telephone 07858 820345
Location
Northamptonshire
United Kingdom
Dealer Profile Page sellingantiques.co.uk/robhallantiques
Verified Since Aug 2025
Items For Sale 38
Items Sold 36
Rob Hall Antiques
Verified Since Aug 2025
View Dealer Info
Location: Northamptonshire, United Kingdom
Profile: sellingantiques.co.uk/robhallantiques
Verified
Aug 2025
For Sale
38
Sold
36
An open early 20th century tan leather field pouch containing fingerprint dusting brushes, glass powder jars, and metal tins.
AN EARLY 20TH CENTURY LIVERPOOL CITY POLICE CID FINGERPRINT KIT
Ref: SA1161616
An open early 20th century tan leather field pouch containing fingerprint dusting brushes, glass powder jars, and metal tins.
Detail View 1
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Archival Detail

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Cataloguer’s note

Written by Sellingantiques from the dealer’s photographs and listing
  • ObjectPolice Equipment
  • Period1900 - 1920
  • StyleEdwardian
  • MaterialLeather, Glass, Metal, Hair Bristles
  • ColourTan
  • MotifsFolding leather pouch, glass vials, natural bristle brush, press-stud fasteners

This early 20th century Edwardian police equipment object is a folding leather pouch housing a Liverpool City Police CID fingerprint kit in a tan colour. The piece combines tan leather, glass, metal, and hair bristles, showcasing visible wear, metal press-stud fasteners on the folding flaps, three glass vials with leather-wrapped sleeves, a natural bristle brush with a wooden handle, and flat metal tins held securely by leather straps. The leather shows distinct ageing, scuffing, and tonal variations across its surface, reflecting historical operational use. Measuring approximately 20 cm by 15 cm when closed, the kit easily fits into compact domestic storage spaces. Placed on a bookshelf or desk in a gentleman's library study, it serves as a fascinating conversation piece and display item celebrating early forensic history.

FAQs

Keep the item in a climate-controlled environment away from direct sunlight and excess humidity to prevent leather desiccation and mold. Apply a neutral leather wax or conditioner sparingly to maintain suppleness, and use a dry soft brush to clean residual dusting powders from glass and fabric components.

Small historical field sets are often displayed open inside glass cloches, shadow boxes, or on dark wood shelving. They serve as tactile conversation pieces within a gentlemans library, study, or eclectic curiosity cabinet.

Authentic kits often feature impressed stamps, serial numbers, or departmental inscriptions matching specific police forces. The construction techniques, such as period snap fasteners, hand-stitched leather pockets, and period glass bottle manufacturing lines, also indicate age.

Early field kits were constructed from durable stitched leather or canvas pouches designed to withstand daily use. The interior contents typically featured glass specimen bottles with metal screw caps, wooden-handled brushes made from fine animal hair, and brass or tin containers for dusting powders.

Fingerprint identification was formally adopted by British law enforcement in the early 20th century following the establishment of the Metropolitan Police Fingerprint Bureau in 1901. Portable kits were distributed to regional police forces and Criminal Investigation Departments (CID) to allow officers to gather latent prints directly at crime scenes.
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