It looms faded in the distance...
 
This faded, timeworn photograph captures a view—barely visible—of the infamous Charlestown State Prison in Massachusetts, circa 1906. The image is faint, likely a photographer’s practice shot, perhaps taken with trembling hands or in low light. The subject: the looming prison where Charles L. Tucker met his end in the electric chair after his controversial conviction for the 1904 murder of Mabel Page. You can read more about this crime in our Lantern Light blog post here.
 
On the reverse, an anonymous hand scrawled a chilling annotation in pencil:
“This is the Charlestown States Prison where Tucker was electrecuted we can't see only half of it I stood on the Prison Point Bridge nere a mile long over the B&M R.R. Yards this is to light M.D.K.”
 
The misspellings and fragmented phrasing only add to the unease, suggesting haste or emotion—perhaps someone trying to capture a piece of history before it vanished behind iron gates and smoke-stained memories.
 
Details:
Original snapshot, ca. 1906
Faded image, low contrast, possibly a test exposure
Handwritten inscription referencing the execution of Charles L. Tucker
Taken from the Prison Point Bridge over the Boston & Maine Railroad Yards
Approx. 3.25” x 4.25”
Uneven edge wear, light toning
 
A powerful artifact not for the casual collector but for those drawn to the darker stories that linger just beneath the surface of American history. A sliver of photographic ephemera bearing witness to a man’s final chapter and the shadows cast by the machinery of justice.