Rogues, A Study of Characters, published in 1857, is one of the earliest books of mug shots made available to the general public. Its photographs, by the Hungarian-born photographer Samuel G. Szabo, show murderers, counterfeiters, cracksmen and pickpockets, each captioned only with a name, alias and offence. Before this, Allan Pinkerton had circulated police mug shots only among law enforcement, and the phrase rogues' gallery did not enter common use until 1886. Szabo's sitters were individuals, and the photographs show the hairstyles, neckties and hats of mid-nineteenth-century America. Szabo spent time in the US in the 1850s, but where he lived when he made the album is unknown.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.