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ANATOLE DEIBLER'S 400 CUSTOMERS

Anatole Deibler is arguably the most famous French executioner. He performed his trade from 1885 to 1939 at a time when photography and film were becoming widely available. The press was hungry for sensational stories and executions were still held in public. He existed as a sort of anachronism, the caretaker of a gruesome medieval ritual transposed into the modern world of automobiles, airplanes, industrialization and mass media.
He executed 395 men but not a single woman in a career that extended over 54 years. His "customers" included a number of bomb-throwing anarchists (No.39, No.57, No.62), a serial sex-killer (No.96), two famous gangs of rural bandits (No.118-121 and No.126-128) and the infamous Bonnot gang (No.162-164), two assassins of French presidents (No.66 and No.347), some notorious gangsters (No.365 and No.371), a lawyer who dissolved two "clients" in sulphuric acid (No.363), the "Ogre" from Haubourdin (No.322) and a most famous and prolific lady-killer (No.243). His customers also included the usual assortment of sordid murderers, thugs, rapists, child molesters and assassins.
He died just before WW2 thus avoiding the controversy and shame that befell Desfourneaux, his successor. Desfourneaux executed women, communists, members of the resistance and "politicals" under the Vichy Regime.
Anatole Deibler meticulously documented every one of his executions in notebooks which have survived. These notebooks have been partially published, making it relatively easy to keep track of all his "clients".
The following portrait gallery of "Deibler's 400 Heads" has been gathered by members of the "La Veuve" forum, including Sylvain Larue, Sylvain Michot, Le Photographe, Bernard Weis and several others. I assembled these display pages to keep this valuable collection together and have myself added about 150 new photos. Only 265 of the 395 heads are included at this time. In particular the 18 first "clients" were executed in Algeria where research is much more difficult. As I find more photos they will be added to these pages.

No.19 - 1891

Michel Eyraud
No.22 - 1891

Denis Rebours
No.24 - 1891

Pierre Merger
No.26 - 1891

Eugène Meunier
No.27 - 1891

Gustave Doré
No.28 - 1891

Adolphe Berland
No.33 - 1892

Magloire Émonet
No.36 - 1892

Louis Anastay
No.38 - 1892

Mathias Hadelt
No.39 - 1892

François Ravachol
No.44 - 1892

Eugène Crampon
No.49 - 1893

Edmond Claeys
No.50 - 1893

Auguste DeGroote
No.53 - 1893

Eugène Beaujean
No.54 - 1893

Pierre Kuntz
No.56 - 1894

Jean Marie Busseuil
No.57 - 1894

Auguste Vaillant
No.61 - 1894

Émile Vannieuwenhove
No.62 - 1894

Émile Henry
No.64 - 1894

Raymond Gamelin
No.66 - 1894

Sante Caserio
No.68 - 1894

Albert Bruneau
No.75 - 1895

Jean Baptiste Lanceleur
No.78 - 1896

Jean Dudot
No.88 - 1897

Étienne Thomas
No.91 - 1898

Xavier Carrara
No.94 - 1898

Alphonse Caillard
No.96 - 1898

Joseph Vacher
No.97 - 1898

Pierre Damoiseau
No.98 - 1899

Alfred Peugnez
No.100 - 1899

Adrien Samson
No.101 - 1899

Félix Geffroy
No.104 - 1900

Évariste Nouguier
No.105 - 1900

Ernest Gaumet
No.106 - 1900

Étienne Portes
No.108 - 1901

Étienne Bouvier
No.111 - 1903

Théophile Leclerc
No.112 - 1903

Auguste Potin
No.114 - 1905

Henri Languille
No.115 - 1905

Jean Van Den Bogaert
No.116 - 1905

Charles Swartewagher
No.117 - 1905

Antonio Pozzi
No.118 - 1909

Théophile Deroo
No.119 - 1909

Canut Vromant
No.120 - 1909

Auguste Pollet
No.121 - 1909

Abel Pollet
No.123 - 1909

Pierre Simorre
No.124 - 1909

Henri Besse
No.125 - 1909

Henri Duchemin
No.126 - 1909

Louis Berruyer
No.127 - 1909

Octave David
No.128 - 1909

Urbain Liottard
No.129 - 1909

Camille Favre
No.130 - 1909

Henri Riboulet
No.131 - 1910

Jean Hébrard
No.132 - 1910

François Olive
No.134 - 1910

Jean Liabœuf
No.135 - 1910

Séraphin Vançon
No.137 - 1910

Jean Terry
No.138 - 1910

Valentin Doilin
No.139 - 1911

Antoine Favier
No.140 - 1911

Jules Grand
No.141 - 1911

Henri Deviot
No.142 - 1911

Charles Philippo
No.143 - 1911

Lucien Pajot
No.145 - 1911

Édouard Caturegli
No.146 - 1911

Henri Hamet
No.147 - 1912

Alphonse Boursier
No.148 - 1912

Arthur Renard
No.149 - 1912

Joseph Rosa
No.150 - 1912

Benjamin Tisseau
No.151 - 1912

Henri Nolot
No.152 - 1912

Paul Bourges
No.153 - 1912

Pierre-Auguste Polydor
No.154 - 1912

Robert Duperrat
No.155 - 1912

Guillaume Courmier
No.157 - 1912

Jean-Baptiste Bour
No.158 - 1913

Georges Gérard
No.159 - 1913

Joseph Renard
No.160 - 1913

Gustave Auxerre
No.161 - 1913

Charles Barré
No.162 - 1913

André Soudy
No.163 - 1913

Raymond Callemin
No.164 - 1913

Étienne Monnier
No.165 - 1913

Auguste Lhomme
No.166 - 1913

Georges Laage
No.167 - 1913

Louis Albus
No.168 - 1913

Albert Carlu
No.169 - 1913

Clément Monvoisin
No.170 - 1914

Frédéric Delacourt
No.171 - 1914

Umberto Piccinelli
No.172 - 1914

Joseph Kirstetter
No.173 - 1914

François Prigent
No.174 - 1914

Robert Fabre
No.175 - 1914

Maurice Doucet
No.178 - 1915

Joseph Lagarde
No.179 - 1916

Louis Lefèvre
No.180 - 1916

Jean Roose
No.182 - 1917

Marius Paudière
No.184 - 1917

Léon Spoetler
No.185 - 1917

Jean Duplay
No.187 - 1918

Émile Ferfaille
No.188 - 1918

Charles Flaguais
No.190 - 1918

Émile Van Der Massen
No.192 - 1918

Fermo Vicini
No.195 - 1918

Charles Ménesplier
No.196 - 1918

Antonio Guerrero
No.197 - 1918

Clément Tranquet
No.200 - 1919

Giulio Sanazzaro
No.201 - 1919

Joseph Perrot
No.202 - 1919

Pierre Grisard
No.203 - 1919

Henri Borel
No.204 - 1920

Albert Fournier
No.208 - 1920

Marcel Lamielle
No.210 - 1920

Jean Laval
No.211 - 1920

Régis Mathon
No.212 - 1920

Djermane Areski
No.214 - 1920

Louis Deleuze
No.216 - 1920

Alfred Carré
No.220 - 1921

Léon Marie Gicquel
No.221 - 1921

Émile Etchevarri
No.222 - 1921

Gaston Castin
No.223 - 1921

Kléber Boucher
No.225 - 1921

Albert Philippe
No.226 - 1921

Juan Cortes
No.227 - 1921

Boularik Amokrane
No.228 - 1921

Alphonse Ernette
No.229 - 1921

Fernand Bâton
No.232 - 1921

Casimir Veignal
No.234 - 1921

Albert Luntz
No.235 - 1921

François Frintz
No.236 - 1921

Armand Fargues
No.237 - 1921

Robert Ricard
No.238 - 1921

Léon Bourbier
No.239 - 1922

Alessandro Aletto
No.240 - 1922

Fortunato Aloïa
No.241 - 1922

René Bouy
No.242 - 1922

Jérôme Marcheselli
No.243 - 1922

Henri Landru
No.244 - 1922

Paul Saigain
No.245 - 1922

Maurice Cassang
No.246 - 1922

Fernand Legadec
No.247 - 1922

Émile Lœuillette
No.248 - 1922

Louis Cadet
No.249 - 1922

François Diétrich
No.250 - 1922

Frédéric Schneider
No.251 - 1922

Émile Flaesch
No.252 - 1922

Alphonse Daubord
No.253 - 1922

Alexandre Lucas
No.255 - 1922

Jacques Charrier
No.256 - 1922

Eugène Huquet
No.257 - 1922

Charles Burger
No.259 - 1923

Félix Marius Gournaud
No.261 - 1923

Georges Léon Patte
No.262 - 1923

Roger Vignau
No.263 - 1923

Paul Brysgaloff
No.266 - 1923

Joseph Witkowski
No.267 - 1923

Stephan Kazmierowski
No.268 - 1923

Félix Gueydan
No.270 - 1923

Charles Vasseur
No.272 - 1923

Marcellin Delval
No.273 - 1924

Louis Dumont
No.274 - 1924

André Garcia Téjeron
No.277 - 1924

Mohamed Khémile
No.279 - 1924

Zeiro Finatti
No.280 - 1925

François Salvador
No.282 - 1925

Antonief Paprocki
No.283 - 1925

Henry Olivier
No.285 - 1925

Paul Louis Dervaux
No.287 - 1925

Yves Couliou
No.289 - 1926

Benito Castro
No.290 - 1926

Ramon Recassens
No.291 - 1926

Maurice Berger
No.293 - 1926

Barthélémy Chabaud
No.298 - 1927

Gabriel Monfort
No.299 - 1927

Marcel Sinn
No.300 - 1927

André Supply
No.301 - 1927

Abder Ben Naceur
No.303 - 1928

Paul Valence
No.304 - 1928

Paul Émile Lasgi
No.305 - 1928

Julian Pachowski
No.306 - 1928

Wladimir Zinczuk
No.307 - 1928

William Follain
No.308 - 1928

Lucien Beyen
No.309 - 1928

André Bellier
No.311 - 1928

Joseph Allier
No.312 - 1928

François Dedieu
No.315 - 1928

Joseph Léon Rauch
No.316 - 1929

Émile Quirin
No.317 - 1929

René Frédillon
No.318 - 1929

Serge Gambier
No.319 - 1929

Léon Vendredeuil
No.320 - 1929

Bonaventure Balsanti
No.321 - 1930

Alexandre Ughetto
No.322 - 1930

Charles Masselis
No.323 - 1930

Marcel Morice
No.324 - 1930

Albert Clarisse
No.325 - 1930

Paul Dufour
No.326 - 1930

Jean Baptiste Guiffaut
No.327 - 1930

Henri Fernand Verdière
No.329 - 1930

Félix Bergeron
No.330 - 1930

Firmin Cipierre
No.331 - 1930

Yves Le Floch
No.332 - 1930

René Roos
No.333 - 1930

Marius Chabrolles
No.334 - 1930

Roman Daszkowski
No.335 - 1930

Alfred Albert Fleury
No.336 - 1931

Étienne Bordus
No.337 - 1931

Antoine Chapponneau
No.338 - 1931

Georges Loos
No.339 - 1931

Ernest Roi
No.340 - 1931

Mohamed Ben Driss
No.341 - 1931

Pasquale Passera
No.342 - 1931

Georges Gauchet
No.343 - 1932

Antoine Martin
No.345 - 1932

Henri Louis Nicolas
No.346 - 1932

Lucien Louis
No.347 - 1932

Pavel Gorguloff
No.348 - 1932

Abel Barranger
No.349 - 1932

Rabah Bedrat
No.350 - 1933

Marien Evaux
No.351 - 1933

Xavier Cornet
No.352 - 1933

Émile Delanoë
No.353 - 1933

Jean Martin
No.354 - 1933

Paul Véteau
No.355 - 1933

Elie Lagarde
No.356 - 1933

Roger Durieux
No.357 - 1933

Anton Cwojdzinski
No.358 - 1933

Alphonse Lemaire
No.359 - 1933

Pierre Delafet
No.360 - 1933

Marcel Grandoux
No.361 - 1934

Ivan Jouroucheff
No.362 - 1934

Pierre Gueurie
No.363 - 1934

Georges Sarrejani
No.364 - 1934

Jean Baptiste Torre
No.365 - 1934

Camille Maucuer
No.366 - 1934

Gaston Philippot
No.367 - 1934

Louis Venuat
No.368 - 1934

Ludwig Gala
No.369 - 1935

Léon-Pierre Barbat
No.370 - 1935

Henri Putigny
No.371 - 1935

André Spada
No.372 - 1935

Joseph Lauer
No.373 - 1936

Michel Nicolini
No.374 - 1936

Giuseppe Sasia
No.375 - 1936

Henri Bourdon
No.377 - 1936

Jules Duchemin
No.378 - 1936

Henri Martin
No.379 - 1936

Arthur Mahieu
No.380 - 1936

Antonio Rocchini
No.381 - 1936

Casimir Dankerque
No.382 - 1936

Manuel Rodriguez
No.383 - 1936

André Martin
No.384 - 1937

Basile Gouczouliakoff
No.385 - 1937

Henri Dardillac
No.386 - 1937

Lucien Sittler
No.387 - 1937

Gaston Donatien
No.388 - 1937

René Kueny
No.389 - 1938

Fernand Hubert
No.390 - 1938

Frédéric Moyse
No.391 - 1938

Auguste Mary
No.392 - 1938

Camille Charbonnier
No.393 - 1938

Ange Quaranta
No.394 - 1938

Gabriel Kamphaus
No.395 - 1939

Abdelkader Rakida