Contraband Collection

Smugglers Unload Goods
A band of smugglers unload their cargo of contraband into a secluded coastal cave, constantly checking for any nearby customs men

Smugglers on the Swedish westcoast, by Josef Wilhelm Wallander (1821-88) Date: 19th century

Customs inspection with X-rays, World War I
An officer examines a bale of cotton with an X-ray machine to try and detect contraband during World War I in March 1915

Liquor down the Drain
Contraband liquor is poured down the drain in Zion City, Illinois, USA

Travellers dining at a restaurant in a French inn, 18thC
Travellers dining at a restaurant in a French inn, late 18th century. Table d hote. Handcoloured copperplate engraving after an illustration by Thomas Rowlandson from Journal of Sentimental Travels

X-ray had proven useful in World War One, for locating bullets and foreign bodies in wounded men and also detection of any contraband

Postal censorship during World War I
Photograph showing condemned goods taken from the mail and stored to await the decision of the Prize Court. Date: 1917

Postal censorship during World War 1
Photograph taken in the Censors Museum which shows attempts which used to be made to smuggle food into Germany through the newspaper post

The postal censorship: deciphering languages
Page showing a series of photos depicting some medals intercepted from Germany, as well as letters marked as photographs which contained rubber and leather instead

Dogs Help Smugglers
Dogs are employed by smugglers to carry contraband goods across the Belgian border. Date: 1902

British Contraband Control at Work, 1939
A big ocean liner heaves to as the boarding officers clamber up the side for an examination during the early weeks of World War II. Date: 1939

Prohibition Raid
Customs officials of the motor boat Marjorie seizing bottles of contraband champagne off Mont Auk Point, Long Island, New York, U.S.A. during the Prohibition. Date: 16 December 1929

Immigration to Britain
Immigrants baggage is checked for contraband goods and other things of interest as they arrive at Gravesend

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