Monday, October 12, 2009

The Nixon White House Tape Recorders Now With Key Video Presentations Of The Watergate Story And Audio Presentations Of What Was On The White HouseTap

The Nixon White House Tape Recorders
Now With Key Video Presentations Of The Watergate Story
And Audio Presentations Of What Was On The White HouseTapes

In 1971 President Nixon installed secret audio recording systems in the Oval Office, his hide-out office in the Executive Office Building, the Cabinet Room and at Camp David . Conversations were recorded between February 16th, 1971 through July 18th, 1973. The recorders where installed and maintained by the US Secret Service. There were a total of seven hidden microphones in the Oval Office. Five where in the President's desk and one each on each side of the fireplace mantle. Two microphones were installed under the cabinet room table in front of the President's chair. These hidden mics ran to a place in the basement of the West Wing and connected to a voice activated tape recorder hidden in a locker. Four microphones where also placed in Nixon's Old Executive Office Building Office which connected to another tape recorder in another room. The desk phones in the Oval Office, The Executive Office Building Office and the one in the Lincoln Bedroom in the residence of the White House were connected to tape recording systems and telephone calls where automatically recorded. The recordings were tied to the US Secret Service Presidential Locator system. This was a system that knew where the President was at all times. The voice activated automatic tape recording system only worked when the President was in the room. However, it recorded automatically when Nixon was present. Nixon was not the first President to use a secret recording system. Both Kennedy and Johnson secretly recorded some meetings and phone calls. In fact, secret audio recording goes all the way back to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Nixon tapes consist of 2,019 hours of audio recordings.

Oval Office/White House Recorder
Sony TC-800B Audio Recorder

The secret White House taping system used a Sony TC-800B audio recording machine like the one on the right. It was a simple machine that was not expensive and cheap tiny Lavalier mics were used that were hidden throughout the Oval office and Nixon's hideout office in the OEB. The recordings were made on thin 0.5-mm tape running at the unusual speed of 15é16 inch per second - half the speed of a cassette recorder. The slow tape speed degrades the recording's already poor signal-to-noise ratio.This accounts for the poor quality of the tapes.

Nixon's Uher 5000 Tape Recorder
And The 18.5 Minute Gap

While the recordings were recorded on the Sony TC-800B, Nixon played them back and reviewed them on a Uher 5000. The famous 18.5 minute gap was determined to be caused, not by Rosemary Woods in a transcribing accident, but caused by eight separate erasers.

The Watergate Tapes
Audio Links From The Spy And Private-Eye Museum

Discussion Of Bugs Tape

Friday, September 15, 1972
White House Oval Office
President Nixon, H.R.Haldeman, John W. Dean III
About 34 Minutes
Click Here To Play The Wave Recording
A discussion of press treatment of the break-in and lawsuits; discovery of another bug in the DNC; bugs in other political campaigns; DNC lawsuits; Edward Bennett Williams; RNC countersuits; election law violations; Congress; the burglars' civil rights; the Washington Post's TV & Radio licenses; depositions on sex-lives of DNC members.

The Smoking Gun Tape
Friday, June 23, 1972
White House Oval Office
President Nixon And H. R. Haleman
About Eight Minutes
Click Here To Play Wave File of Recording
"The Smoking Gun" conversation: Haldeman and Nixon discuss the progress of the FBI's investigation especially the tracing of the source of money found on the burglars. They propose having the CIA ask the FBI to halt their investigation of the Watergate break-in by claiming that the break-in was a national security operation. This was the final tape release in the final days of the Nixon Presidency that triggered his resignation speech. After this type was released, almost all support for Nixon for an impeachment in the US Senate was gone.

"Cancer on the Presidency" Tape
Wednesday, March 21, 1973
White House Oval Office
President Nixon. H.R.Haldeman. John W. Dean
About 37 Minutes
Click Here To Play Wave File Of Recording
The "Cancer on the Presidency" conversation: Dean recaps the history of the Watergate break-in and subsequent cover-up for the President. They guess at who was responsible for setting the break-in in motion. Dean tells the President that the cover-up is "a cancer on the Presidency" that must be excised or his Presidency would be in danger. Also discussed: references to blackmail, perjury; discussion of paying the burglars off with one million dollars. This tape has John Dean talking about hush money paid to the Watergate burglars to keep them quite. Dean tells Nixon that there is a "cancer" growing around the his Presidency and that these people are going to want a lot more money to remain quite. Nixon asks how much Dean thinks it would cost and dean states that it could cost a million dollars. Nixon is recorded stating that he knew where a million dollars could be obtained.

The Nixon Resignation Speech
Listen to a complete Real Audio tape of Nixon's resignation speech.

The FBI Investigation of Watergate
This is a 126 page FBI report of the FBI Investigation of Watergate in a PDF file.

A Close-Up Of The Sony Recorder Model That Was Used To Record White House
Oval Office Conversations In A Locker Below The Oval Office. (See Map Below)

Above photo shows the location of the oval office and the Nixon hide out office where he bugged himself
and the residence where he sat in the Lincoln bedroom and listened to the tapes.

A Photo Of Rose Mary Woods shown how she might have erased the tapes.

A Close-Up Of The Model Of The Uhler Tape Recorder/ Player That Rose Mary Woods
Used That Produced the 18.5 Minute Gap. This Is Also The Same Model Rumored To
Be That Nixon Would Set Alone In The Lincoln Setting Room Upstairs In The White
House To Listen To The Evidence Of The Bugging He Did Of Himself And Others.

The 18 And 1/2 Minute Gap
On the first tape requested from Nixon's secret taping system

The 18 and 1/2 minute gap in the Nixon tapes occurs on tape 342, a meeting on June 20th, 1972 between H.R. Haldeman and President Nixon in the Executive Office Building. This is just three days after the Watergate break-in. As the two talk about assorted matters of concern to the President, there is suddenly an 18 and 1/2 minute gap on the tape. The White House claims the gaps was made accidentally by Rose Marry Woods when she answered the telephone during a period of time she was typing transcripts of the tape. It was later determined that the eraser was made by hitting the erase button nine times.

Watch the YouTube video of Alexander Butterfield
testifying before the senate committee


A Close-up of the Uher 500 Reel-to-Reel Tape Recorder Opened.

Video Presentation By Alexander Butterfield
Alexander Butterfield was The White House assistant That Revealed The
Existence Of The White House Taping System To The Senate Committee
Gives A Presentation On His Events While Working For Nixon

Rose Mary Woods, President Nixon's secretary making the cover of
Time Magazine, Decemeber14, 1973 with a line drawing of the Uhler recorder.

Click Here To See The Watergate Bug Exhibit

Watch A Video Of The Richard Nixon Funeral

You Can Learn More About The Nixon Tape Recordings from:

The Nixon Presidential Materials Web Site

From The Ralph D. Thomas PI Vintage Collection
THOMAS INVESTIGATIE PUBLICATIONS, INC.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INVESTIGATIVE SPECIALISTS, INC.
SPY EXCHANGE AND SECURITY CENTER
P O Box 82148, Austin, Texas 78708
Showroom: 9513 Burnet Road, Austin, Texas 78758
Phone 512.719.3595 Fax 512.719.3594
Email: RThomas007@aol.com

Review Current State-of-The-Art Investigative Audio Recorders

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Phone 512-719-3595, Fax 512-719-3594
When In Austin, Texas--Stop By Our Huge Showroom

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Writing a high tech surveillance report.

New Technology In Writing A High Tech Surveillance Report
Making Your Surveillance Reports Look Sharp With Google
Maps, Satellite Images And Street Views

By Ralph Thomas

The old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words applies to the new online tools you can use when writing a surveillance report that will make you stand out. There is also the old saying that a bad surveillance can be saved with a good surveillance report but a good surveillance looks like a bad surveillance when the surveillance report is done poorly. There is good news because you have multimillion dollar technology you can use to jazz up your surveillance reports that will make them look very sharp! The above Satellite map was quickly done in Goggle maps. By using the new street view, you can add street view photos to many locations and add these to your surveillance report. You now have multimillion dollar technology to use for your own surveillance reports. By utilizing these online tools, you can now add:

• A Street Map
• A Satellite Map
• Various Street Views Of The Surveillance Location

Once you have done a few of these, you yourself will be simply amazed on how the graphical displays, maps and photographs can add a highly impressive and professional high tech look to any of your surveillance reports. Remember that your investigative report is the end work product of your job and it's the only physical thing, other than your video surveillance evidence, that your clients have. Reports done like this will not only highly impress your current client, you can make up some sample reports to show to potential clients who will be highly impressed when compared to the boring old standard investigative report with just words in it. Yes, a photo is worth a thousand words, everyone knows that and you can now easily provide your clients and potential clients with a striking visual presentation that makes you and your investigations stand out from the crowd!

What Is Street View
Street view is a new view you can obtain in Goggle maps. This is done with a special 3-D camera that is attached to the top of a vehicle which Goggle has driving around to take the 3-D photos. What is amazing is that when you click on street view (indicated by a little man when you are in Goggle satellite view) a widow pops up that will let you actually travel down a street and look to the left and look to the right.

Note the man in the satellite image. When you click on that, a window pops up and you can move
around the area is street view as well as look to the left and look to the right using your mouse.

Mapping The World In 3-D Street View

To the left is a typical setup for a Goggle car with a 3-D street view camera on top of it. The 3-D camera takes 360 degree video images which will let you walk down amy street the Goggle street view car has mapped and they are mapping the world like this. Chances are good, there is a street view tool for the area of your next surveillance so check it out.

Watch The Video Of How
Google Street View Works

Click On The Graphics To The Right Or Just Click Here To Watch An Online Video Of How Google Street View Works So You Can Get An Idea Of How You can Take Freeze Frames Of This New Technology For Your Surveillance Investigative Reports.

On the above photo, note the arrows. By looking at the blue outline on the streets, one quickly determines that a street view can be obtained for both the front of the house and the back of the house since the back of the house is a vacant lot that can be viewed from the road behind the house.

How The Photo Display Is Done! Using An Apple Computer
You will need a full version of Photoshop and an Apple Computer with OSX.

1) Go to: http://maps.google.com.
2) Type in your address and click on Satellite View.
3) Using a little program called "Grab" which is part of the Apple OSX operation system Click Out The Satellite View And Save The Image.
4) Go Down To Street View And Repeat Step Three For Each Location.
5) Launch Photoshop And Open Each Of Three Images You Saved.
6) Scale And Crop The Satellite Image and place it in the middle of a blank window.
7) Using The Elliptical Marquee tool set to a feather of 20, crop each street view image and place on each side of the Satellite Image.
8) Each image is now it's own layer. Adjust the placement of images to how you want them.
8) Add arrows for each street view photo and you are done.
9) Flatten the images in the window.
10 ) Save image to import into your surveillance report.

This type of image can be done in a matter of just a few minutes with the right tools. You now have a very sharp image to import into your surveillance report that will impress your client. Note that the satellite view also reveals a pool in the back yard of this location. This could be of use to your client. Not only will this technology highly impress your client and help them understand the layout of the surveillance area, it also becomes a great aid for pre surveillance checks and helps you determine before hand where and when to start the stakeout.

Secrets To Learning Photoshop The Right Way!

Is this confusing you? Not to worry! Photoshop is a software program that one might say does have a learning curve to use but once you know how to use it, it is a snap to use and this technique only takes a few minutes to do. You could purchase a book and spend hours, weeks and months trying to figure out what they are talking about or you could take an online course that will merely take you a few hours. One of the secrets to learning powerful software programs is a little company called VTC (http://www.vtc.com/). VTC has online tutorials for major software programs that you can either take online or purchase the training on DVD. By watching these programs, you can quickly learn programs such as Photoshop. VTC has a program in which for $30.00 a month, you can have online access to 70,000 different instant video tutorials and 650 different courses. I personally have used VTCto learn Photoshop, Dreamweaver and a host of other powerful software programs. Although this will be time consuming at first, once you learn how to do this sort of thing; you'll be light years ahead of your competition and your surveillance reports will look the very best they ever could! Try it you will like it! Not only that, you can go to this web site and take some free demo training right now on hundreds of programs.

You might also want to add a standard street map. In areas where there is terrain, hills and mountains, you can simple click on Terrain and obtain images that shows that. Below is a typical street map and a terrain view.

Map View from Google Maps

Terrain View From Google Maps

And Oh Yes! There's Even More And It's Photos!
Aside from Street View, Map View and Satellite view, Google Maps has come up with something else! They have linked photos to their maps! Below is a screen shot of Goggle maps using the address: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20006, the White House. When you click on " MORE" then select "PHOTOS: , you can see photos taken all over the place. You simply click on any photo and it pops up in another window. In many locations there are hundreds of them as shown below.

How is this done? Google Maps IDs photo locations and addresses it can through the millions and millions of photos displayed on the web and then links it to it's mapping. What that means is that if anyone has taken a photo of a certain location, made it public on the web with it's location, chances are good that Google Maps will link it. At first, this might not seem like much to you. However, let us say as an example that you have a subject who traveled to the famous Willard Hotel in downtown Washington. Look at the graphics below you could add to your surveillance report!

You have a satellite view and map of the hotel location. You also have a photo of the front of the building, a photo of the outside entrance,
a photo of the front desk and a photo of the hallway to get to the rooms. All quickly done using online tools.

Check Out High Tech Covert Video Gear!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

ISC West

SpyTek Wholesale Imports And Lawmate America!
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Here's Some Photos From ISC West:


ISC West 2009 Was Huge! Hundreds Of Vendors That Would Take Several Days Just To See Them All!

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Lawmate's Darren Behind The New Innovative Key Chain Video Recorder DVR!
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Top Team! Cody, Sabar And Jamie!

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Lawmate America's Foxy Kelly Making Exclusive Deals With Forus Recorder!



Ralph, Cody, Sabar And Darren. The Lawmate America Team!

Authorized Arizona Lawmate Dealer Jon Marshall From Spygadgets And Cody.

Authorized Texas Lawmate Dealer Zeke From StarTech Outlet With Cody.

Jill And Brandon Johnston from KJB Security. Top Wholesalers Of Lawmate Products!
From Left To right: Ralph, Cody, Sabar, Jill, Brandon And Darren

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Jamie, Ralph, Sabar And Cody Behind the Lawmate America Booth

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Tuesday, October 6, 2009

To buy or not to buy.

PI GEAR: To Buy or Not to Buy,
That Is The Question


By Cody Woods -
Email: cwnaisbiz@aol.com

Buying equipment is part of the job of private investigators. Knowing when and what to buy is one of the secrets of successful investigators.

How many times have you had to turn down a case because you didn’t have the right equipment to do the job?

How many times have you messed up a case because your equipment failed, or user error (I know you do not want to admit it, but it happens).

I bet most of you have come across one of these problems. Even the most successful investigators have these problems, but they have them a lot less frequently than most. And the reason for this is that they are prepared.

Let’s start with knowing when to buy equipment. Some of you will say “I only buy something if a case comes up that I need it”. Others buy when there is a sale, or when they have extra money. And still others just buy whatever is the latest and greatest.

The way I look at it is that anything you buy is an investment in your business. Anything you buy to work your cases, you can pass the cost onto your clients. A lot of times, the first case you use the equipment will pay for it, and after that, you still charge the clients for the equipment, and that part is all profit. Pretty much anything you buy can help you make more money in the long run. I know some of you will say that the 29.95 bug detector you bought to do a $3000.00 countermeasures sweep didn’t help me make any money when it didn’t work correctly and you lost the case. But I beg to differ. I say it probably helped you to make money in the future. You probably learned a lesson that will help you not to make the same mistake in the future, thereby making you money in the long run if you learned the lesson and where more prepared and informed in the future.

Every day, I talk to someone who needs a piece of equipment yesterday. If you know sometime in the future, you will work a case where you will need a video camera, or a digital camera, why not buy in advance. Doing so can save you a lot of time and aggravation.

A lot of the equipment that you might need in the future takes some time to learn. I talk to investigators everyday that get some new piece of equipment the day before they need to use it, and when they go out on a case, they do not know how to use it, and end up loosing the case. If they had bought the equipment ahead of time, and taken the time to learn how to use it, they probably wouldn’t have lost the case.

Another good reason to buy equipment ahead of time is to save money. Whether you are buying something on sale, or buying things for your company for tax purposes. A friend of mine from Alabama, who runs a successful investigative agency, has a room full of equipment that he has bought when his accountant told him he needed to spend some money on his business. Some of the equipment might sit around for a year before he uses it, but the key is he has it, and has had time to learn it when he needs it. Every few years, he comes to visit me and restocks with new and updated equipment.

Now a lot of you will say I do not want to have a lot of inventory sitting around wasting space. Well, there are a couple of solutions for you.

  1. Sell your old equipment to your clients. You can make money above what you paid for the items. You can also charge a fee to train them in the use of the equipment. I know a lot of investigators who make a lot of extra income selling equipment on the side.
  2. Sell your unused equipment to another investigator. With all the investigative e-groups on Yahoo, there are plenty of forums to hawk some of your old or unwanted equipment.
  3. Rent out equipment to your clients, or to other investigators.

Now to move on to my second part of this article: Knowing what to buy. Countless times I have had investigators tell me that they bought a piece of equipment to do a job and it didn’t work. After talking with them a bit, I figured out that it wasn’t that the equipment didn’t work, but that it was the wrong piece of equipment for the job. There are many ways to find out what is the right piece of equipment for the job.

  1. Talking to other investigators. Find out what they use. E-groups are a great place to post a question about equipment. Take advantage of the free resources out there.
  2. Going to Investigative seminars and conventions. A lot of the time, they will have people speaking on equipment. Also, you can talk to a lot of vendors, and manufacturers there.
  3. Find a knowledgeable and honest sales person. (I know many of you think we do not exist, but there are some of us.)


In every profession, generally the most successful are also the ones who are prepared. If you have the equipment, and know how to use it, you can honestly tell the client whether you are capable and equipped to handle the job. If you get the case and you keep the case and get referrals from the client you will make more money. That is why most are in the business, to make a living. If you are not prepared, and do not have the equipment you most likely will not get the job, or if you take a case and mess up because you do not have the equipment or the knowledge to use it correctly, you will not keep the client or get any positive referrals from them. So doesn’t it make sense to be prepared?

Cody Woods is a licensed private investigator in the state of Texas. He's general manager of Thomas Investigative Publications, Inc. and The Spy Exchange And Security Center. He has been around and used investigative equipment since a teenager and is one of the nation's leading authorities on investigative and security equipment. Mr. Woods is now one of the nation's leading developers and importers of investigative and security gear. Many leading professional security and investigative equipment shops use his wholesale service which is called SpyTek Wholesale. You can email him at: cwnaisbiz@aol.com

Sunday, October 4, 2009

The Cutting Edge

TALKING ABOUT INNOVATION AT IT'S BEST -LOOK AT THIS!
Your On The Cutting Edge Now.............!

THE FUTURE GEAR CALLED FUTURETeK!
The Smartest Pen You'll Ever See--For A While Anyway..

YOU ONLY NEED ONE AND IT'S
JUST AROUND THE CORNER!
Presented By Ralph Thomas And Cody Woods!
Photos from an egroup.

Yes, the projected computer screen and projected touch keyboard works!
Want a bigger screen? No problem! Just pull the projector lens back!
But a computer in a pen is just the start of this new wonder!

This is something Al Gore might have practically invented! It's a complete
computer, cell phone, GPS tracker, covert video camera, fax machine,
wireless internet browser, high resolution still camera, wireless email
checker and sender, roll-out iPod, MP3 and MP4 player, movie downloader
and player, TV receiver including cable and satellite TV, automatic telephone
audio recorder and any thing else you want it to be all rolled into one small unit.
Actually, right now, you will need the kit of just one to use as a computer as shown
above but look at this...

Rolled up, it can be used as a writing pen and take photos as well as
audio and video record. It has a built in GPS tracker so it can be tracked
anywhere and anytime.

Rolled out, it becomes a combination ipod and/or mini computer, Cell phone
and digital video recorder with a touch screen protection keypad and hand-held
Xerox machine. With it's new service you can instantly download and watch any
TV show ever made, any movie ever released and any song ever recorded!
But there is even more! It's also a contact list, digital note pad, calculator,
spell checker, game player, day timer, and card reader. You'll never
need one more pocket device! And oh, we forget to mention it can
Also be used as a radio, Walke Talkie (with two sets), magnifying glass,
hand warmer, flash light and alarm clock!

And oh yea, we forgot to mention. Look through the the center and you have
a 70X pair of micro binoculars. We also forgot to mention that the stick will vibrate
if you like and end users can use their own innovation to use it any way they like!

They will be, "cheaper, better, smarter and smaller!"
SAY TUNED TO THIS WEB SITE AS WE WILL BE MARKETING THEM!

Unit FUTURETeK comes out, take a look and see what's high tech,
state of the art and ready now!

What's NewBooksEquipmentSoftwarePI Kits
NAISFind A PILinksResourcesClothing
BadgesID CardsCertificationsDigital DataOur Staff
PI NewsPI DailyCop ShopGift IdeasBecome A PI
Utrak Inc. - GPS Sign-On

THOMAS INVESTIGATIE PUBLICATIONS, INC.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INVESTIGATIVE SPECIALISTS, INC.
SPY EXCHANGE AND SECURITY CENTER

P O Box 82148, Austin, Texas 78708
Showroom: 9513 Burnet Road, Austin, Texas 78758
Phone 512.719.3595 Fax 512.719.3594

Copyright: 2007, Thomas Investigative Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.
Thomas Investigative Publications, Trademark, 1981.
National Association Of Investigative Specialists, Inc, Trademark, 1986.
Spy Exchange, Trademark, 1999

Friday, October 2, 2009

The History And Evolution Of Spy And Investigative Photography

The History And Evolution Of Spy
And Investigative Photography
By Ralph Thomas


I find cameras and their history quite fascinating and as a collector of spy and subminiature cameras, I thought I would share with you the history and evolution of such cameras and investigative photography. When you get to the actual samples of the cameras in this article, you can click on the links to see bigger images and get more information about them. When you are in the Texas area, be sure to plan on stopping in at the Spy Exchange And Security Center showroom to see our PI Vintage Spy And Private-Eye Museum rooms where you can see these cameras and much more in person.

Investigative and evidence photography has gone through three basic evolutions. The first one was daguerreotype photography which was the first photography. The second evolution was film photography. The third evolution is digital photography which we are in today.

Starting in the 16th century, artists learned how to project images onto surfaces. However, it was not until the 1820's that photography was invented. In the summer of 1826, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce took the world's first photograph from a second story window utilizing pewter plates in France. He didn't announce his discovery publicly until 1839, another ten years. Before there was photography as we know it today, there was daguerreotype photography.



The World's First Photograph
Daguerreotype photography was really the first successful photo process. It caught on like wild fire in the late 1830's and early 1840's. Daguerreotype photography was done with copper plates that were coated with iodine which produced light sensitive silver iodide. Once made, plates had to be used within about a hour or they were no good. Exposure to light for several minutes was needed to obtain a proper exposure. One had to stand very still for a long time in order to obtain a Daguerreotype photo. If one moved around, you would generally get a blurred image. Take a look of the photograph below. Lincoln's face is a little blurred. That's likely because his head moved just a little during the several minute process it took to expose this photo.

This Daguerreotype image of Allan Pinkerton, President Lincoln, and Maj. Gen.
John A. McClernand; Antietam, Md. September-October 1862 has been very well
preserved and greatly enhanced from the original Daguerreotype. There are not
many like the quality of this. Most Daguerreotype photos fad over a few years
and tend to have a very shiny mirror appearance to them. Some fad so bad, the
images in the photo almost disappear or become so faint, they are hard to view
with the naked eye.

By the time of the Civil War, Daguerreotype photography was well established in the United States. The ability to take a detailed exposure in black and white of what the eyes see was quite a marvel for it's time. However, photography as an investigative and spy tool had limited use. Since one had to stand still for a long time to get a good photo, covert photography as we know it today, was not in existence. Photography could be used to record various types of outdoor scenes as well as crime scenes. Indoor scenes could be done with proper lighting conditions. Night time photography was about out of the question.

Daguerreotype photography equipment was big and bulky. The camera almost always had to be used with a tripod because of the long exposures needed. In these days, you couldn't just "snap" a photo. Once a photo was taken the one plate had to be carefully removed from the back of the camera. There were a lot of chemical processes involved. People who did Daguerreotype photography did, for the most part, develop their own plates. Film as we know it today had not yet been invented. To the left, is what a daguerreotype camera looked like. You can click here to learn more about the cameras and processing.

To the left is a daguerreotype photo of the assassination scene in Ford's Theater right after the assassination of President Lincoln. The photo was taken during the early morning hours after the President's death. Note the blurred image of the soldier standing guard in the right bottom portion of the photo. The image is blurry simply because the soldier moved while the exposure was being made. This daguerreotype photo is very well preserved. It's part of the FBI files which has a small file on the Lincoln assassination it has collected even though the FBI was not in existence at the time of the Lincoln assassination. This is one of only a couple of known daguerreotype photos taken at the scene.

Crime Scene Daguerreotype Photo
This well preserved crime scene photo was taken just after the Lincoln assassination at Ford's Theater. It shows the stage door in which John Wilkes Booth exited the stage after jumping from the Presidential box. The Daguerreotype on the left has scratches and blotches on it. The Daguerreotype on the right has been restored in Photoshop by the author of this article.

Most cameras were very big and very bulky. The cameras themselves were mostly made of wood and were placed on wooden tripods. It was not until about 1865 that a small sliding box camera 1 inches by 1 2/3th of inch was developed. This was likely the first subminiature spy camera that was developed in France. These cameras worked just like the huge and heavy Daguerreotype cameras with a light box, lens and a sliding frame in the back for the light sensitive plate to be placed.

Contrary to what many believe, there were people experimenting with color in the Daguerreotype photography age. However, the colors would fade out. Using additive and subtractive methods, the first permanent color photo was taken by a physicist by the name of James Clerk Maxwell in 1861. Useable methods to sensitize plates to color with green light were discovered in 1873 and orange light in 1884.However, sensitivity to red light did not happen until film was discovered in the 1900s.

Daguerreotype photography had it's limits. The process was quite expensive and time consuming. A huge assortment of plates, chemicals and bulky camera equipment had to be carried around for anyone who wanted to take photographs. Making copies was highly expensive.

There were several other processes that improved upon daguerreotype photography but these processes were sort of short lived and merely improved the end results. These news processes did not improve the massive bulkiness of the overall photography process. The wet-plate process came into existence around 1851. The wet-plate process eliminated the flat reflections of daguerreotype photography. In 1856 a process called tintype came into being which further developed the quality of photographs.

Super Subminiature Box Camera, 1870's

The Super Camera was a subminiature box camera that worked via the dry plate process. It would take one exposure at a time by placing the plate in the back of the camera. The camera eye leaver to expose the plate had to be timed. That is, you would pull down on the shutter leaver and then release it once you felt you had enough exposure time to place the impression on the one plate. This camera measured 2 inches wide by 2 3/4th inches long by 3 inches deep. It was one of the smallest known cameras for it's time.

In the late 1800's, dry plate snapshot photography came into being. These cameras were rare and expensive. That all changed when George Eastman discovered film that replaced the Daguerreotype in 1884. In 1888 the Eastman Kodak camera with film hit the market. Suddenly, a photographer no longer needed to carry around boxes of plates and toxic chemicals! The age of the Daguerreotype, wet-plate and tintype photography had ended. It wasn't long before miniature film was made and really small miniature and subminiature spy cameras hit the market place. One of the first miniature film cameras was the Ansco Memo Camera that came out in 1927. The first subminiature was the Tica Expo Watch Camera.

Entering The Film Evolution

Ansco Memo Miniature Camera, 1927

The Ansco Memo Miniature Camera was made by Agfa Ansco of New York. It was marketed as the only camera that could take 50 pictures with one roll of fifty cent film. The Memo Camera, as it was called, sold for $20.00 and featured an F: 3.5 Anastigmat lens. She measured a mere 1.5 inches wide, 4 inches long and 2 inches deep. Really small for 1927. The camera was known for taking good photos of action and speed. Photos could be taken quickly one after the other. This was state-of-the-art and a modern marvel for it's time. The Memo Cam became a favorite camera for private detectives. If you think the $20.00 price tag was cheap, $1 in 1927 had the same purchasing power as $32.35 does today. That makes this a $640.00 camera by today's value.

Tica Expo Watch Camera, 1890's -1920's

Before most of us were born, men generally carried a watch in their pocket and not on a watch band on their arm. They were, of course; known as pocket watches and almost all successful business people had one. Spies, undercover officers and private-eyes needed a way to conceal a camera they could carry on their body. What better idea that one built into what looked like a pocket watch. The Tica Expo Watch Camera is likely the most famous watch spy cameras every made. Thousands of them were sold around the world in the late 1800's and early 1900's. The Expo brand was made by Expo Camera Company of New York. The Tica Expo had an attachable viewfinder that would attach to the top of the pocket watch type unit.

The first really useful color film did not reach the USA market until 1907. It was called Autochrome film. It was based on a screen-plate method.The first modern film to produce color was in 1935. It was called Kodachrome.

Lumiere ELJY Subminiature Camera, 1930's
The Lumiere ELJY Subminiature Camera was a French camera developed by Auguste and Louis Lumière. This was really a marvel for it's time period. It was a high end spy camera. The lens extends out from the camera and locks in place. The view finder pops up. The shutter, which is located in the lens barrel, makes it possible to have speeds: 1/10, 1/25, 1/50, 1/100. . The Lypar f3.5 lens has a variable focus of 0.5m to infinity (20 inches on the imperial version). It measured a mere 24x36 mm.
Petal Camera 1940's
The Petal Camera was the spy camera from the 1940's hoarded by American private eyes and sold for ten dollars (US). That might seem really cheap by today's standards but ten bucks was a lot of greenbacks back then. In fact, that was almost a week's pay. The Petal Camera is a tiny, round camera about the size of a US quarter. It has a fixed-focus 12mm (f5.6) lens. Speeds could be set at B and I and it produced six, 6mm circular images on a 25mm film disc in a special cassette. The Petal is so small, in fact, that it is listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as being the smallest camera ever produced.
Micro 16 Subminiature Spy Camera 1940's
The MICRO 16 was made by Wm. R. Whittaker Co., Ltd. in Los Angeles, California, USA. from 1946-1950 and was highly popular. It was about the size of a package of cigarettes and was often hidden inside a pack when used by spies and private-eyes. The Micro 16 took 16 mm film. It had a 90 degree viewfinder. The aperture was controlled through a lever and could be adjusted to bright, dull and color. The plunger on the top of the camera could be pressed to advance the film and could be made to stay down flat on the surface. A film counter was viewable from the back. It was quite a modern marvel for it's time! The camera sold for about $30.00 in the 1940's. However, in the 1940's that was just above what the average weekly paycheck was for an American.

These little box cameras as shown above are becoming quite valuable. In 1991 a Lucky Strike camera from Cold War history much like the camera above with the exception that it had fake cigarettes where the push button is sold for $30,000 at Christie's auction. Since that time, they have gone up even higher and are becoming quite rare to even find for sale.

It was not until the Minox spy camera hit the market place in the 1940's that investigators and spies had a huge assortment of controls they could use to adjust a small camera. The Minox camera was the first subminiature camera with truly professional controls including, focus, Aperture of the lens, duration of exposure (or shutter speed) and focal length and type of lens (telephoto, macro, wide angle, or zoom)

Minox Spy Camera 1940's, 1950's,1960's
Known throughout the world as the subminiature camera to have, the Minox spy camera was in the hands of almost all intelligence agents and spies in the 1940's, 1950's and 1960's. The camera was very good at taking close up document photography. The camera was so small and so good for it's hay-day that it had restricted sales to governmental and military intelligence agencies in many parts of the world such as the United States. In the late 1960's through the 1980's if you were a private-eye and hand one, you had the very latest high tech subminiature camera on the market. They were also very expensive.

Minox Spy Cameras stayed king of the subminiature camera world and released an endless selection of options including a high end light meter, various flash attachments, a subminiature tripod, telephoto lens and a right angle lens. Still, other small spy cameras were produced in massive numbers. On of the most popular of these special function cameras was the Steikeck ABC Wrist Watch Camera that came out in the 1940's.

The Steineck ABC Wrist Watch Camera, 1940's
One of the longest running sales of a unique spy camera was the Steineck ABC Wrist Watch Camera. It was sold in the USA from the late 1940's until the late 1950s. Although this was not a watch, and is really was disguised, it was a highly popular camera for it's time. if you were a private investigator and had one, you were the talk of the industry.

During the mid and late 1950's a huge assortment of small cameras hit the market place. Some of these cameras were very good cameras. Some of them were very cheap and didn't work well. Just about all of the small camera makers used special film that one would have to purchase from the camera maker. Not only that, they all maintained their own processing labs and did it in a way that one would have to use only the processing lab of the camera maker. This produced a steady flow of profit in the form of both camera sales, film sales and film development income from the labs. Steky and Minute 16 cameras shown below were two of the more popular subminiature cameras of this time period. The Steky camera was a very good camera. The Minute 16, although millions were spent on it's research, never did really work that well in practice.

Steky IIIB Miniature Spy Camera With 40mm
Telephoto Lens 1950's

Steky IIIB Miniature Spy Camera With 40mm Telephoto Lens was a highly popular miniature camera with long range shooting ability with the telephoto lens. The camera measured a mere 2 1/2 inches tall and shot 16mm film. A very fine camera!
Minute 16 Mini Spy Camera from Universal Camera
Corporation, 1950's

The Minute 16 Mini Spy Camera from Universal Camera Corporation was unique in that it could shoot movie pictures or stills. That was quite a feat for it's time! It's tiny! Measurements where about three inches by two inches. After the success of the Minox spy camera, many such cameras came into the market place with the business idea that the camera company could make money off of processing the film (which only they could do of course!) The Minute 16 was one of the more popular ones because of it's size and multi-functional ability. However, it didn't last long. Some state that over two million dollars was poured into the design and research of the camera. However, it didn't work that well. In the 1950's the Universal Camera Corporation went belly up.

The First Button Camera, 1950's

Used by intelligence agencies during the cold war in the 1950's and 1960's, the world's first button camera could only take still shots and was so bulky, it could only be used with a heavy coat. The actual button was a plate that screwed onto the camera lens of a small subminiature camera. The button camera plate had a cord that ran into the agent's pocket. Using this method, when an agent wanted to take a still photo, he simply placed his hand in the pocket and pushed the lever.The center part of the button would quikly slide away to expose the camera lens and the shutter would open. Since the exposure was done on small subminiature 16 MM film, one had to develop the film before one could see the results of the efforts. Most agents had their own film developing kits. The coat used had to have the button camera installed on it with matching buttons as well as a hole torn inside the coat pocket so the camera lever could be installed. No one knows for sure exactly how many of these were around but it's rather rare to find one today.

They were custom made by intelligence agencies such as the CIA. Crude by today's standards, these were highly rare, custom made and state-of-the-art in the 1950s. Quite different from the equipment in use today by investigators, law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Click Here for more details and an online video of the first button cameras from the 1950's.

The Private-Eye Camera pictured below was a highly popular camera for private-eyes in the 1950s. It was a camera for those who could not afford nor did not need the high end features of a Minox. The camera functioned well for it's time.

Private Eye Shirt Pocket Camera, 1950's
This camera was made in France and was marked "Private Eye". It was produced in the 1950s and marketed in the USA. It was really small for it's day and took good still photos. The Private-Eye had a double micro-coated f6.3 and 1/50 second shutter that (according to it's promo material) insured sharp in-focus shots. The film was 16 mm film that would take18 exposures. When the film was advanced, the camera was automatically "cocked" for taking the next photo. There is a pen-type clip so you could carry it in your shirt pocket. No doubt every private-eye that was into the latest gadgets and equipment wanted one of these.

In the late 50's and early 60's, America was in the mist of the Cold War and spying between the US and the USSR was everywhere. The KGB had developed a highly powerful camera that came to be known as the Photosniper. With it's rifle stock to aim the camera and keep it steady along with it's super powerful telephoto lens, the Photosniper was developed to take close up facial shots of people going into and out of embassies around the world. For a long time, the Photosniper became the industry spy standard telephoto camera to get close ups from a long way away. When the USSR fell apart, there was a huge flooding of the photo market place with the Photosniper. Today, they are rather hard to find.

KGB Stock Mount Sniper Camera With
Long Range Telephoto Lens

This long range telephoto camera was used by the KGB to take photos of people going in and out of American Embassies in the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's. It was called the Photosniper because of the stock on the camera which could be pointed like a rifle. After the collapse of the USSR, these units were imported to the USA for a time. They are now hard to find

In the late 1950's and early 1960's Polaroid started a new camera revolution with film that developed itself in a matter of seconds and the finished photo could be pulled right out of the camera. It created an instant camera. It was invented by Edwin Land.

Polaroid Automatic 250 Land Camera, 1960s, 1970s
When the Polaroid Automatic Land Cameras came out, they were the rage for professionals including police officers, insurance adjusters, inspection services and private investigators simply because there was no film developing. State-of-the-art on the spot instant developed photos helped get investigative reports done with photos quick and easy. If you had a Polaroid Automatic Land Camera, you could take a photo and five minutes later, hand it to your client. The world was changing.

Note: You can view online a huge assortment of vintage subminiature spy cameras by clicking here. You can also see this assortment of vintage and antique subminiature spy cameras and a huge assortment of other spy and investigative artifacts in person in Austin, Texas at:
The Spy And Private-Eye Museum
The Spy Exchange And Security Center
9513 Burnet Road Suite 101, Austin, Texas 78758
Phone 512-719-3595


Entering Into The Digital Evolution
Computers have always been able to store images. The better early computers were able to take screen shots of it's screen and then covert them into a digital image. However, computers were just not powerful enough to handle digital photography at the resolution we needed until the late 1990's. Since that time, the digital photography revolution has taken off. Digital photography has many advantages over film photography. Since their is no film processing involved, it is, of course; cheaper and faster. Resolution is much better than in film photography although it didn't start out that way. It's been only a few years ago when the first digital mega pixel cameras came out. Mega pixels is the number of pixels per inch. Mega means million so a one mega pixel camera has a million pixels per inch. Today, it's quite common for digital cameras to have between 3 and 12 mega pixels. That is quite a bit of resolution. Since digital photography is integrated with computer technology, it's very easy to take digital photographs and place them right into an investigative report.

With software programs such as Adobe Photoshop, it's quite easy to adjust digital photographs making the computer one's do-it-yourself digitial darkroom. Adjustments such as brightness, contrast, color balance, resolution, size, and cropping are easy and fast. One can now do on a computer what used to be highly time consuming and highly expensive in a conventional film processing lab. Software today even lets an investigator do forensic analysis of photographs that was impossible just a few years ago. With software programs, even forensic restoration can easily be done.

The photo of the left is an old Daguerreotype photo of Allen Pinkerton, the first American private-eye on horseback. The original is cracked. By scanning these into a digital image, Photoshop lets you restore such photos as shown in the photo on the right. You can click here to see larger images.

Using The Old And The New
Using digital imaging with Photoshop, we believe we may has stumbled upon the only known photograph of Kate Warne, the first female private investigator who was hired by Allen Pinkerton before Lincoln become President of the United States. While doing background research, Barbara Maikell-Thomas found the photo on the left of Allen Pinkerton setting in a chair during the civil war. Barbara noted that the person standing directly behind him looked like a female. The photo is a well preserved daguerreotype photo in the Library Of Congress. We ordered a high resolution copy of the photograph from the Library Of Congress. Before the photo came in, we did some checking and came to find out the Kate Warne was indeed with Allen Pinkerton at the time this photo was taken. When you scan the photo into a computer and blow it up with Photoshop, a close up of the person reveals that makeup is being used. The above photo bar is small image samples of the work done with Photoshop You can click here to learn more about Kate Warner, the first American private investigator and the photo.

Digital photography is moving so fast these days, it's very hard to keep up with it. Photography in the digital world has moved into what is called future shock. Future shock means that things are moving so fast, products are almost out of date a few weeks after you purchase them. Here's a review of some digital cameras as it relates to the investigative world.

The Famous Oswald Backyard Photos In Digital Form
Remember these photos? They were of Lee H. Oswald, the man claimed to have been the killer of President Kennedy. These photos turned up after the assassination and were published in Life Magazine. They are photos of Oswald in his backyard with the rifle that is claimed to have murdered the President. Several years ago, I digitized the famous Backyard Photos of Lee Oswald and used Photoshop to analyze them. You will find it very revealing what I came up with. They where likely faked. Who faked them and for what reasons is still not clear but you will be amazed with this evidence which anyone can do with programs like Photoshop. Click here to review the report.



Dallas Police Photo Of Lee Oswald Possessions. Minox Camera, Other Photo Equipment And
Optics This photo comes from Chief Jessie Curry's book, The Assassination Files.I have
added the red arrows myself.

What's even more revealing is that Oswald himself owned a Minox Spy Camera. It was found among his positions after the assassination, inventoried by the Dallas Police and then quickly covered up. Some claim that the photo does NOT reveal a Minox Spy Camera, only a Minox Spy Camera Case and an Exposed Minox Light Meter. Ok, I will concede that fact! You can not see the camera. However, I have yet to know one person who would have had a Minox spy camera case and a light meter without the camera. Aside from the Minox, the photo (above) reveals a number of other interesting objects including other cameras, film, various small binoculars and other spy type photo and optic equipment. All owned by a man who was a minimum wage inventory clerk who lived in a rooming house. Yea right! When you study Oswald, it's quite clear he was some sort of low level spy or intelligence operative. Who he was working for and why is a house of mirrors that I don't believe will ever be solved. Well anyway, I don't need to go on and on about it. I'm just revealing some sample stuff youcan do in Photoshop and now retired from the bottomless pit of the Kennedy Association so please don't email me about it.

Mavica Floppy Disk Digital Camera, 1990's
The Sony Mavica Digital Camera was highly popular as one of the first digital cameras simply because you could transfer photos from the camera to your computer on a floppy disk. When digital cameras first came out, the question was always how one gets the digital photos from the camera to the computer. There was a lot of "compatibility" problems. The Mavica solved that problem by simply storing the images on a floppy disk which everyone liked.You would simply remove the floppy disk from the camera and insert it into the floppy disk drive of your computer. Today, more and more computers doesn't even have floppy disk drives. The Mavica hay-day wasn't all that long ago and is a good example of how quickly the digital camera and computer products have developed in just a few years.
PI-Camcorder TinyTek Stick
World's Smallest High Quality Camcorder!

Ideal For Covert Use! The World's Smallest Covert Video Recorder And/Or Camcorder!
On Sale Now! $129.95

Introducing the PI-Camcorder TinyTek Stick, the high quality camcorder that actually can fit inside a standard pack of gum. Delivering unbelievable quality video/audio at the touch of one button. Evidence recording has never been made easier! The PI-CamStick is the smallest high resolution, real time digital camcorder ever produced. Easy to use "one touch record" button lets you discretely record any evidence instantly. For the most discrete applications, the PI-CamStick can even fit into a standard pack of chewing gum! High quality instant videos have never been easier!

Pro Series 3-in-1 Key Chain Digital Spy Camera Kit
• High-Res Still Shot Cam • Web Cam • Video Clip Cam
Includes Photo Express Software and USB Cable
High-Res Still Shot Cam – Web Cam – Video Clip Cam - Includes Photo Express Software and USB Cable $49.95
The little Pro Series digital camera you can keep on your key chain is always ready to get that all important photo when you are! This inexpensive camera gives you enough pixels to take good digital photos when you need snap shots quick and will be of service to you when you need it !

NEW GENERATION STEALTHTeK Micro DVR 2009
WORLD'S SMALLEST HIGH RESOLUTION
DVR WITH SCREEN!


Smaller, Cheaper, Better With More Resolution Than Ever Before! Limited Time Special! FREE Camera With StealthTek DVR Order! Super Low Price!

PV900 Invisible Secrets DVR/ Covert Video Camera
This is high end covert bodywear innovation at it's best! The PV900 Invisible Secrets DVR is a law enforcement grade DVR built into a cell phone that has motion activation and time and data stamping. The high grade, high resolution low light hidden CCD camera is built into the top of the cell phone. Press a secret function key once you turn the covert video system on for recording and the screen of the cell phone looks like a normal cell phone. No one but you knows that it is recording video. Once the covert video operation footage is obtained, simply walk away with your cell phone. Press another secret function key and the high resolution video with time and date stamping can then be reviewed with the high resolution cell phone screen.

PI Black CamTeK Camcorder
A New Revolution In High-End CCD Multi-Function 8 in 1 Camcorder And Tiny DVR! Even Has Remote Control And DVR Functions!
• High End CCD Camcorder • 8 X Zoom
• 11 MP digital still camera • MP3/WMA digital audio player • Voice recorder • SD/MMC card reader • Portable DVR • Remote Control • 2.5 Inch Swivel Screen
• Tiny! - 4/ 1/4 X 2 1/4 x X 1 inches!


Aside from the higher grade spy camera products pictured above, there are some still digital cameras that are built into objects to hide the fact that they are cameras which makes them good for covert use. They are highly inexpensive.Here is a quick review of some of them.

World's First Completely Self Contained
Covert Video Camera And DVR Built Into A Working Watch

If you want the latest innovation in covert video bodywear, the covert video watch with built in digital video recorder hidden inside is finally hear! This handsome watch not only looks great, but it also hides a hidden 1.5 Mega Pixel CMOS camera with a 2 GB digital video recorder.

Working Pen With Built-In Video Camera/DVR! Covert Video Has Never Been Easier! Now With Up To 30 Hours Recording Time! Two Models To Pick From! 2GB or 4 GB Memory! Now Starting At Only $119.95

It used to be merely a dream to have a working video camera and DVR built into a working pen. However, amazing break-though nano technology has now made that dream a reality! This amazing devise is a high grade working pen that conceals a video camera and camcorder/DVR built right into it's top! Simply push one button to take video! This amazing PenCam has up to 4GB of memory built in which gives you up to 30 hours of recording time! You will find fast downloading of evidence to your PC through the USB 2.0 connection. With the built-in rechargeable battery that can be charged simply by plugging the unit into your USB port, this little camera is amazing and simple to use. The battery will last for three hours when charged. You'll be in a position to take up to 30 hours of video or hundreds of still shots with this unique state-of-the-art unit.
Unique 4-in-1 Digital Camera Surveillance Binoculars
Special Pricing
" 5 X Surveillance Binoculars • Built-In Digital Camera • Digital Video Camera • PC Camera • For Less Than What You Normally Pay For Good Binoculars
Thinking about being in a position to snap a photo every time you look through a pair of binoculars on a surveillance used to be only a dream but now that dream can come through with modern high tech digital/photo technology.
NEW! Covert Calculator Slim-Line Digital Camera
Great on-the-go tool for all investigators! It's featuring a very slim "card" type calculator and quality digital camera in one "shirt pocket" size unit. High speed transfer of images to your computer via included USB interface cable. 8K internal memory stores 32 images at high resolution (1280 x 960 pixels) and 117 images at standard resolution (640 X 480 pixels).


There certainly isn't any doubt that Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, the man who took the first photograph that we talked about at the start of this article in 1826; would be highly impressed with the advancements and the evolution of photography today. Below is a review of state-of-the-art equipment for both still and video covert photography.

STATE-OF-THE ART REVIEWS BY SUBJECT
COVERT VIDEO SURVEILLANCE CAMERA AND SUPPLY MENU

What's New In Covert Video

Micro Video And Pinhole Video Cameras

Covert Video Cameras Built Into All
Kinds Of Stuff
Bodywear Covert Video Cameras-
Cameras You Wear Or Covertly Carry
Tiny Bullet And Weatherproof Cameras Access Video Off The Net From Anywhere
Portable Mini Digital Video Recorders Complete Video Monitoring Systems
Camcorders & Still Digital Cameras Video Recorders
Total Digital Video Cameras & Gear Night Vision Optics
Quad Systems And Processors Simulated Video Cameras
Special Operations Video Video Camera Detection Gear
Other Surveillance Aids And Optics Surveillance Training Aids

The History And Evolution Of Covert Video Surveillance Evidence Gathering By Ralph Thomas

Choosing The Right Video Camera For Your Job- By Cody Woods

And:

Audio Evidence And The History And Evolution Of The Audio Recorder By Ralph D. Thomas

Early Detective Agency Advertising And Private Investigative Trends From The Past
- By Ralph D Thomas


Copyright: 2008, Ralph D. Thomas
All rights reserved.