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Author Archives: Anthony Vaver

Anthony Vaver has broad expertise in the social and cultural history of crime and punishment. He holds a Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and an M.L.S. from Rutgers University.

In the Media: A Foodie Look at Early Prison Food

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Curious about what early prison food was like? This 3:43 minute video from Zagat’s “Bizarre Bites: Prison Food Taste Tests” takes viewers on a brief tour of American prison food from the 1830’s to the present day. The clip takes place at the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia and includes some great shots of prison […]

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Now Available: Early American Criminals

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

My new book, Early American Criminals: An American Newgate Calendar, Chronicling the Lives of the Most Notorious Criminal Offenders from Colonial America and the New Republic, has been published and is now available for purchase! Amazon.com (Paperback and Kindle e-book) Barnes and Noble (Paperback and Nook e-book) Smashwords (All e-book formats) Amazon.co.uk (United Kingdom) Amazon.ca […]

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Special Announcement: Forthcoming Book, Early American Criminals

Monday, August 25, 2014

It has been a long time since I have posted on this website, but that is because I have been hard at work writing my next book. Now, I am thrilled to announce the forthcoming publication of Early American Criminals: An American Newgate Calendar, Chronicling the Lives of the Most Notorious Criminal Offenders from Colonial […]

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Early American Criminals: Francis Burdett Personel and the Liberty Pole

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Constable Mr. Van Gelder was just about to abandon his search. He had recently been sent to New Haven, CT to find Francis Personel by New York City mayor Whitehead Hicks, who had learned that Personel was possibly hiding out in that city. But what Van Gelder did not know was that at the same […]

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Prisons and Punishments: The Crank Mill

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

The punishment of forcing convicts to step on a treadmill–a large, long rotating cylinder with steps attached along the outside–failed to take hold in America, even though England used it successfully for years in its prisons. Proponents of the punishment argued that the treadmill turned prisoners into productive citizens by making them work and provide […]

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