Mob FilesPublic-domain archive of American organized crime
A man in shirtsleeves stands beside a copper still on a table, holding a glass up to look at its contents.
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Moonshine still confiscated by the Internal Revenue Bureau, photographed at the Treasury Department (Library of Congress)

National Photo Company photograph of a still recently confiscated by the Internal Revenue Bureau, photographed at the Treasury Department in Washington, with a man standing beside it. Prohibition-era evidence, not a weapon.

Date
1921/1932
Kind
photograph
Source
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division (National Photo Company Collection)
Retrieved
2026-10-12
Rights
Library of Congress rights advisory: "No known restrictions on publication." Collection: National Photo Company Collection. Reproduction number LC-DIG-ds-00136.

The Library dates the photograph [between 1921 and 1932] and numbers it National Photo Company No. 4214. Its summary reads: “Man standing next to still looking at contents of glass.” The caption on the print says the still was recently confiscated by the Internal Revenue Bureau and photographed at the Treasury Department.

The record places the apparatus in Washington. It does not say where the still was seized, from whom, or under which case.

Object: Seized still
Maker: not stated
Date: [1921-1932]
Provenance: confiscated by the Internal Revenue Bureau; photographed at the Treasury Department
Appears in: LC-DIG-ds-00136

itemThe Largest Still in Captivity, Washington, 11 November 1922 (Library of Congress)National Photo Company photograph of a still and bottles of liquor, with four men named in the summary, described as the largest still ever taken in the national capital.