A wanted poster was a notice distributed to let the public know about an alleged criminal on the loose. They often included a picture or a facial composite, but a photograph was not always available at the time.
The posters would list those wanted, their crimes, and the reward.
Wanted ads were a prevalent site in the Wild West before TV, Radio, and other forms of media could caution people about dangerous criminals.
A $50 reward offer for the arrest, conviction, and recovery of a 1913 Overland Roadster, Model 69, from Spokane, Washington. John Moe CollectionWanted ad for John Wesley Hardin, the Gentleman Killer, who killed Deputy Sheriff Charles Webb of Brown County Texas, 1874. PinterestAn 1824 wanted poster issued by the Spanish Empire and offering a gold and silver bounty for the capture of pirate captain Roberto Cofresí. WikipediaA Wanted poster for Billy the Kid offering a $500 reward, ordered by Lew. Wallace, Governor of New Mexico. True West MagazineWanted Poster for Bonnie and Clyde ordered by the U.S. Department of Justice, 1934. Wikimedia Commons$1,000 reward for the capture and convictions of the thieves who broke into the property of Henry Morgan & Co. 1875. Nova Scotia Archives$1,000 reward for the detection and apprehension of the murder of Bridget Landergin, from Boston, 1873. Nova Scotia Archives$10,000 reward for WM.M. Tweed, who was indicted for forgery, among other crimes and escaped from prison December 4, 1875. Nova Scotia Archives$500 reward for the capture of those responsible for the abduction of 10-year-old Katie Mary Curran. Boston, 1874. Nova Scotia Archives$1000 reward for the arrest and delivery of Thomas Reed to the Sheriff of Galveston County, TX, 1879. Nova Scotia Archives1858 Reward for $100 for Sophia Gordon, a runaway slave from a farm near Washington. DCPL Commons1880, Boston. Wanted poster for John A. Woodward who embezzled roughly $82,000. Nova Scotia ArchivesAn 1877 Wanted poster for Joseph Rudderham, John Mulligan, and Cornelius Sughro, wanted by Special Police Officer N.B. Furnald of Quincy, Massachusettes. Nova Scotia ArchivesAn 1879 Wanted Ad for W.B. Jones from Missouri. Nova Scotia Archives
A wanted ad for the murderer of Samuel Miles, an Englishman living in New Hampshire in 1886. $500 reward for the man who nearly decapitated Miles and stole his horse and buggy. Nova Scotia ArchivesAn 1863 Wanted sign for escaped officers General Morgan and Captains Bennett, Taylor, Hains, and Magee who escaped from the Ohio Penitentiary. RankerJohn Wilkes Booth Wanted Poster (1865). RankerPinkerton’s National Detective Agency wanted poster for William F. Reilly who forged checks worth $15,000. Nova Scotia ArchivesReward for the arrest of train robbers Frank and Jesse James proclaimed by the Governor of Missouri. The State Historical Society of MissouriWanted ad for $250 reward for the arrest of William Murry and Ada Shreve who stole $5,800 in gold certificates, 1873. Nova Scotia ArchivesWanted Ad for Albert Kleist, a Prussian accused of Grand Larceny, described as having a swaggering stride Nova Scotia ArchivesWanted poster for the forger Alexander Cohen of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Date Unknown. Nova Scotia Archives1873 Wanted poster for N. Appleton Shute. A $5,000 reward for embezzling a large amount of bonds, and money from the bank he worked at. Nova Scotia Archives$100 Reward for a runaway slave from Richards’ Ferry, Virginia, year unknown. Ranker.Newspaper broadsheet referring to Jack the Ripper as Leather Apron 1888. WikipediaAl Capone’s blank criminal record sheet. PinterestWanted poster for the Dillinger Gang, Depression-era bank robbers led by John Dillinger and included other famous gangsters of the period, such as Baby Face Nelson.[1] The gang was noted for a successful string of bank robberies, using modern tools and tactics, in the Midwestern United States from September 1933 to July 1934. WikipediaWanted Poster for D.B. Cooper who Hijacking a Boeing 727 on November 24, 1971, and parachuting from the plane mid-flight; has never been identified or captured. WikipediaWanted Poster for James Earl Ray, the man who killed Martin Luther King Jr.Wanted poster for Pablo Escobar. Redbubble
