Using clear toothpaste supplied by the facility. A broken No. 2 pencil is inserted into the tube, allowing the graphite to tint the paste until it turns fully black. Once pigmented, the mixture is applied as a functional substitute for traditional mascara.

Female inmates sometimes use Atomic Fireball candies as a makeshift lipstick. By wetting the candy and applying its red coating to the lips, the pigment functions as a temporary cosmetic substitute.

Made from iron bedposts; charge made of pieces of lead from curtain tape and match-heads, to be ignited by AA batteries and a broken light bulb. On May 21, 1984 two inmates of a prison in Celle, Germany, took a jailer as a hostage, showed of their fire power by letting go at a pane of bullet-proof glass, and escape by car. Source: Marc Steinmetz

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Handmade prison "shank" from the Maryland penitentiary circa 60s-70s. Crude and simple, it is nevertheless sharp and very lethal via Dave Fullarton

Poems from Prison is Mr. Knight's first book of verse. His work has appeared in Negro Digest, Journal of Black Poetry, The Lakeshore Outlook, Prison Magazine, and other periodicals, and in the anthologies "For Malcolm X" and Potere Negro (Black Power), and L'Idea degli Antenati (The Idea of Ancestry), published in Italy. source

Saw made from a wooden coathanger and a jagsaw blade.

Rigid Blue Lined Western Jacket. Made in America, by prisoners and/or former inmates.

The first prison-made plates were issued in 1928, and “MONTANA” was spelled out; plates prior to 1928 were manufactured out of state.

Battery cigarette lighter made for smoking out of AA battery, random wire, and electrical tape.

Chess set made out of toilet paper, dried bread and shoe paste.

Contraband radio made from miscellaneous items. Toliet paper and old radio parts.

Paper maché drinking cup disguised as a roll of toilet paper

Salt and pepper dispenser made from popsicle sticks.

Whip with razor blades. The grisly weapon was found around 1996 in ‘Santa Fu jail in Hamburg, Germany, in the cell of a drug addicted inmate.

fashioned by an inmate in the metal workshop of Wolfenbüttel prison, Germany, presumablyas a means for smuggling secret messages, drugs, or gun parts. Although the prisoner claimed itto be a piece of abstract art entitled ‘Dackel’ (= dachshund),it was confiscated in 1991.

Make shift shank from abs plastic pencil sharpener. Confiscated from a prison cell raid.

Fake head from pillow, hat, paper, piece of Tetra Pak, hairs from a broom. Source: Simon Menner

Antonio Vega Macotela discovered this makeshift stove in one of his many visits to Santa Martha Acatitla, a Mexican prison where he makes collaborative art with the incarcerated.

Galveston County Jail has implemented the brightly colored jumpsuits into their penitentiary. Which allows corrections officers to identify supposed threats at a glance.

Dumb-bell, fashioned in the prison’s metal workshop by an unknown inmate of Stammheim prison, Germany. In the late eighties, when this item was found hidden in a staircase, prisoners weren’t allowed to work out. The inscription is supposed to read ‘Hantel’, German for dumb-bell, but is misspelled.

Dummy pistol from blackened cardboard; found on June 23, 1988, in an inmate’s cell in Stammheim prison, Germany, after a fellow prisoner had tipped off the guards. The dummy was hidden in an empty milk pack and was most probably intended to be used for taking hostages in an escape attempt.

Hash pipe fashioned from a milk carton and a piece of tin; confiscated in ‘Santa Fu’ prison in Hamburg, Germany. Smoking implements are the most common of all illicit items in prisons. The range of materials they are made of (paper, bone, metal, glas etc.) mirrors the inmates’ great imagination.

Ladder made of steel rails from bookshelves. On October 10, 1994, inmates Gerhard Polak and Raimund Albert used this ladder during their successful escape from ‘Santa Fu’ prison in Hamburg, Germany. Source: Marc Steinmetz

Grappling hook, disguised as a wrought-iron candelabra, fashioned by an inmate around 1985 in a prison workshop in Wolfenbüttel, Germany, and confiscated in his cell. Before they were banned, candelabras like this one were quite popular among prisoners as they could also be used as grappling hooks in a prison break after bending open the legs and attaching a rope. Source: Marc Steinmetz

Makeshift rope in the classic style, made from bedsheets and dish towels; length: 16 meters. On May 2, 1998, two inmates used it in a failed attempt to escape from the 6th floor of ‘Santa Fu’ prison in Hamburg, Germany. One of the men fell, the other made it to the roof of the main gate where he was spotted by a surveillance camera.

Knuckleduster with padded handle, made from a rasp that was presumably stolen from a prison workshop. The weapon was found in a cell in the prison of Wolfenbüttel, Germany, sometime around 1993. Source: Marc Steinmetz

Howling Wolf (c.1876) was a Cheyenne warrior and son of the Cheyenne chief Eagle Head. He was imprisoned from 1875 to 1876 at Fort Marion, Saint Augustine, Florida, with other “hostile” Plains Natives. This sketchbook contains sixteen pencil, crayon, and ink drawings, depicting scenes at Fort Marion, and of Cheyenne life on the Plains, including buffalo hunts and celebrations. The note, “Drawn by Howling Wolf (Cheyenne) Oct 1876 Fort Marion” is written in pencil inside the front cover in an unidentified hand. source Beinecke Library

Escape Tools: Double-barreled pistol. This gun was found along with other self-made firearms in the cell of two inmates of Celle prison (Germany) on November 15, 1984. The weapons had been made in the prison’s metal workshop. They were loaded with pieces of steel and match-heads, to be ignited electrically. Source: Marc Steinmetz

Escape tools: dummy submachine-gun made from a grease injector, wood, a rubber sleeve, and tape. The mock weapon was found in 1994 in a prison workshop in Wolfenbüttel prison, Germany, after jailers had been tipped off that a prison break was being planned. Source: Marc Steinmetz

Mace, found in 1997 in the metal workshop of ‘Santa Fu’ prison in Hamburg, Germany, where an unknown inmate had manufactured and hid it. The dual-purpose instrument was was probably designed to be used as a weapon, or, attached to a pole, to push aside the barbed wire on top of the walls during a prison break. Source: Marc Steinmetz

Moonshine still, confiscated on April 23, 1996, in an inmate’s cell at Heimsheim prison, Germany. The plastic canister would be filled with fruit mash, sugar and yeast. After fermentation, a primitive immersion heater was used to distil the alcohol which collected in the water bottle. The bottle still contains the original booze. Source: Marc Steinmetz

Collection of knives and shivs secured at ‘Santa Fu’, the prison of Hamburg Fuhlsbüttel, Germany. Inmates often carry illicit weapons, either self-made or smuggled in from outside like the shiv disguised as a ball pen (third from right). Source: Marc Steinmetz

Audio transmitter or bug made of radio recorder parts by an inmate of Wolfenbüttel prison, Germany (battery is missing). Prisoners occasionally manage to install gizmos like this one in guard-rooms to be prepared for upcoming cell searches. Also suitable as a means of cell-to-cell communication among inmates. A standard radio serves as a receiver.

Shiv, disguised as a wooden crucifix; found in an inmate’s cell in Wolfenbüttel prison, Germany, sometime around 1994; intended for use in an escape attempt or as a general weapon. At that time a lot of crucifixes were fashioned in prison woodshops until jailers finally figured out their true purpose. Source: Marc Steinmetz

Narcotics cache. In a hollow space inside his artificial leg a prisoner in open detention frequently smuggled narcotics into ‘Santa Fu’ prison in Hamburg, Germany. Around 1984 his behaviour finally caught the attention of the prison guards who then examined his prosthesis. Source: Marc Steinmetz

Female inmates have been known to repurpose red M&M candies as improvised eye shadow. (other colored varieties are used as well). The candy coating, when moistened and gently applied, transfers Red Dye No. 40 to the skin, producing a cosmetic pigment in the absence of conventional makeup.

Hidden radio inside of an encyclopedia by an inmate of Ludwigsburg prison, Germany.

Hash pipe fashioned from an empty horseradish tube

Made from bread. The white coloring comes from mold, and the black dots were made with a felt-tip pen. Because dice are typically considered contraband, these were made small so that they would be easier to conceal from prison guards. Credit: Alex Kalman

The casings on pens are removed by prison officials so that inmates can’t melt them down to make a weapon. This leaves just the inkwell, which is difficult to hold. These pens were wrapped with paper and string so they would be easier to use. Credit: Alex Kalman

Made from a piece of appliance cord, a pen clip, a razor blade, rubber bands, and a plastic utensil. Credit: Alex Kalman

Hand-knit using denim and material from towels.

Coffee and creamer containers with a spoon. Credit: Alex Kalman