[Eleven women police receiving marksmanship training]

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Eleven women stand in a line on a firing range, each holding a handgun, in a picture that records a moment when policewomen were still a novelty in American law enforcement. Women began joining city police forces in the early twentieth century, often in roles focused on women and children, and many had to argue for the right to carry weapons at all. The photograph was produced by the National Photo Company, a commercial studio that sold news and feature images to newspapers and magazines, so it was likely meant to show the public a new kind of officer at work. The record gives no exact location or date beyond the 1909 to 1939 range, which fits that period of expanding women's roles.

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