Badge, "Pinkerton National Detective Agent, New York"

Pinkerton National Detective Agency

This badge is a novelty replica of the badges worn by members of the Pinkerton Detective Agency during the second half of the 19th century. The top of the badge bears the “all-seeing eye” with Pinkerton’s motto “We Never Sleep” below. The center of the badge reads “Pinkerton National Detective Agent” above “New York” in a cartouche. The Pinkerton Agency was established by Allen Pinkerton in 1850 and became famous by protecting President Lincoln during the Civil War. After the war, the Pinkerton Agency and its detectives became notorious for their violent methods in hunting down criminals and protecting railroad shipments as well as busting strikes and suppressing the dissent of organized labor.