If people outside of Illinois still know Joliet for any reason, it's for the prison named the Joliet Correctional Center that closed its doors more than a decade ago. So it's no huge surprise to find someone on eBay is selling a replica poster from a 1914 film documentary entitled, Life in Joliet Penitentiary.
The "buy it now" price is $4.99, with $4 shipping.
Here's what the seller had to say about the item:
"THIS IS AN EXCELLENT QUALITY REPRINT OF AN ORIGINAL MOVIE POSTER INSERT FROM THE 1914 FILM "LIFE IN JOLIET PENITENTIARY" STARRING ACTUAL PRISON INMATES.
"MINT, UNUSED CONDITION.
"GREAT ITEM TO FRAME AND HANG IN YOUR MEDIA ROOM, OFFICE, DEN, GAMEROOM, BAR, OR RESTAURANT.
"SIZE IS 8 1/2 X 17".
"PRINTED ON QUALITY POSTER STOCK SIMILAR IN THICKNESS TO THE ORIGINAL."
According to IMDB.com, the film was made by the Industrial Moving Picture Company in Chicago and was released in March 1914. The movie is a silent, black-and-white picture that explores reforms made in the penal system. Among them, according to the poster, is the "old lock-step system now abolished."
The lock-step system required inmates to be very closely chained at the ankle so that when the person in front stepped forward, the person behind would be forced to follow, according to a Wikipedia definition. The inmate's right hand was placed on the left shoulder of the person in front of him in order to maintain his balance.
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