Edmond Locard, also known as the French Sherlock Holmes, established the world’s first forensic laboratory in Lyon. The discovery of a collection of over 20,000 photographic plates from his laboratory was reported by Interesting Engineering on April 8. These photos were housed in the garage of the National Forensic Police Department in Lyon until 2005, when they were moved to city archives. However, due to limited resources and lack of funding, the photos continued to deteriorate over the next decade until they were restored and digitized by historian Nicolas Delestre in 2017.
Locard’s approach to crime investigation involved going to the scene and reconstructing the sequence of events based on physical evidence. A century ago, police did not investigate cases in the same manner as today, with handwriting analysis being one of the more advanced techniques. Locard began his career in forensics studying under Alphonse Bertillon, who developed a method of identifying individuals using body measurements. However, Bertillon’s false testimony in a famous police scandal known as the Dreyfus affair prompted Locard to establish a laboratory where various forms of physical evidence could be scientifically analyzed for use in court.
The recently restored photographs showcase Locard’s team at work and conducting experiments, providing valuable insights into forensic practices of the past. Despite his early inspirations from pioneers like the Lumière brothers and Arthur Conan Doyle, Locard eventually dismissed certain techniques such as handwriting analysis due to their unreliability. Nonetheless, his groundbreaking work in forensic science over a century ago continues to influence experts today. Details of Locard’s forensic laboratory were shared in the journal Nature.
