The California Institution for Men [Cover title]

Chino, California: [The Institution], 1949. Very good. 5½" x 4¼". Stapled pictorial wrappers. Pp. [9]. Very good: a few small spots, mostly clear of content; very faintly creased.

This is an unrecorded, photographically illustrated brochure promoting future employment for the inmates of a pioneering experiment in humane penal rehabilitation, the California Institution for Men (CIM).

When CIM was built in Chino in 1941, California was considered to have one of the most oppressive penal systems in the nation. Its first warden, Kenyon J. Scudder, had worked at California reform schools and as chief probation officer for Los Angeles County. He was a force for prison reform; he aimed to humanize incarceration and reduce recidivism by integrating inmates back into society once they'd served their terms. Scudder trained his staff in judo for self-defense, reserving weapons for dire emergencies. There were no walls or guard towers, and locks on the cells weren't used. He eschewed racial segregation and promoted family visits, and in 1952 he published a memoir called Prisoners are People. By the time Scudder died in 1977 CIM had become the more traditional prison complex that remains open to this day.

This booklet's cover names Scudder as Superintendent as well as Richard A. McGee, California's first Director of Corrections (and also a proponent of rehabilitation). With a fantastic photographic image on nearly every page, it introduces the facility itself as well as the men "learning various skills and trades in preparation for their future as useful citizens." It regales prospective employers with the high standards of CIM training in welding, "machine shop," bricklaying, tile setting, plastering and auto mechanics, and ends with an information blank to be remitted "to discuss possibility of release employment for a prospective parolee." McGee became Director of Corrections in 1944, and Edwin Naquin, here cited as the contact for interested employers and "Supervising Parole Officer," held that role until 1949, allowing for our date attribution. Scudder later served as president of the American Correctional Association and McGee as president of the American Justice Institute.

A rare and vivid glimpse into a short-lived but worthy attempt at humane incarceration in California. No holdings were located in OCLC or online.