OAKLAND, CALIF. Charles B. Campbell, Washington, D.C., G-Man, is shown demonstrating the use of sub-machine guns to local police at the target range here. This picture, showing Campbell’s accuracy on the target body, was taken with flash bulb lighting in a fraction of a second, yet eight bullet traces are visible, all striking the figure in the chest and stomach

November 29, 1939

Not on view

The vibrant laser of light emitted from the rotating barrel of a submachine gun strikes its target with devastating accuracy. Devised for the trenches of World War I, the machine gun became part of popular imagination and, for some, everyday life. This exhibition of marksmanship is a hallmark of the increasing arsenal of both police forces and criminals in the 1930s, when notorious gangsters waged open warfare on America’s streets.

Artwork Details

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Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: OAKLAND, CALIF. Charles B. Campbell, Washington, D.C., G-Man, is shown demonstrating the use of sub-machine guns to local police at the target range here. This picture, showing Campbell’s accuracy on the target body, was taken with flash bulb lighting in a fraction of a second, yet eight bullet traces are visible, all striking the figure in the chest and stomach
Publisher: ACME Newspictures Inc.
Date: November 29, 1939
Medium: Gelatin silver print
Dimensions: Image: 6 11/16 × 8 9/16 in. (17 × 21.7 cm)
Sheet: 7 1/8 in. × 9 in. (18.1 × 22.9 cm)
Classification: Photographs
Credit Line: Gift of Drew and William L. Schaeffer, 2015
Object Number: 2015.774
Curatorial Department: Photographs

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