A prison ring is a type of plastic jewelry fashioned by hand in prisons, by working scrap plastic material, commonly celluloid items such as a toothbrush or a pen. Celluloid was historically a popular material since it could be heat bonded and glues were often less available. A common feature of prison rings were small photos mounted on the bezel.
The rings were produced as early as the 1920s. Rainey Bethea, the last person to be publicly executed in the United States, was caught after a 1936 rape and murder because he left a distinctive prison ring at the murder scene.
References
- "More Celluloid Jewelry - Laminated Bob Dodd Rings". December 7, 2012.
- Leigh Leshner (28 February 2011). Collecting Art Plastic Jewelry: Identification and Price Guide. Krause Publications. pp. 9–. ISBN 978-1-4402-2751-6. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
- ^ Grasso, Tony (1996). Bakelite Jewellery A Collector's guide. The Apple Press. pp. 94–98. ISBN 1850766134.
- "August 14: On This Day in History … briefly". 14 August 2018.
- Craughwell, Thomas J. (December 12, 2011). Busted: Mugshots and Arrest Records of the Famous and Infamous. Running Press. ISBN 9781603762694 – via Google Books.
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