From the loft

Photographed 20 September 1922, Female Reformatory, Long Bay NSW

When I first found this image I was entranced by the fur coat which dominates the frame. It is thick, soft and so lush that you can imagine touching it and having your fingers sink deep into the fur. It conjured up a couple of questions: Would you ever need such an extravagantly warm fur in the balmy climes of Sydney? And if so, why would you wear such an expensive piece of apparel in a daytime prison mugshot? I turned to the NSW Police Gazette for some answers.

Annie Gunderson was only 19 when she was convicted of stealing from Winn’s Limited, a department store located in Sydney. Shoplifting was a popular crime in the 1920s and quite a few of the women in the Long Bay photographs were convicted of this form of theft. Legend tells that the famous madam Tilly Devine would send her girls into the city for a spot of shoplifting if business in the brothel was slow. Police reports and daily newspapers detailed daring thefts from major stores such as Sidney Snow Ltd., Grace Bros., Anthony Hordern & Sons and Mark Foys Ltd., all of which have since disappeared from the mercantile landscape.

A fur coat in Sydney was a symbol of luxury. Aping the fashions of Europe, Sydney women would buy heavy fur coats and swelter in our tepid winters. The longing for this luxury item created a market for the theft and sale of fur. Upon further digging I discovered that Annie Gunderson, replete in her gorgeous fur, had actually been charged with stealing a fur coat from Winns. History does not tell us if the fur in the photograph is the stolen item but I suspect it is.