author
George W. (George Washington) Matsell
1811–1877
Best known as New York City’s first police commissioner, this 19th-century lawman also left behind one of the era’s most curious language books: a dictionary of underworld slang. His work offers a vivid glimpse into the streets, crimes, and speech of old New York.
1 Audiobook
Vocabulum; or The Rogue's Lexicon Compiled from the Most Authentic Sources
by George W. (George Washington) Matsell
About the author
Born in 1811 and dying in 1877, George Washington Matsell was a New Yorker who moved from bookselling and seafaring into public life. He became the first New York City Police Commissioner and served during a turbulent period in the city’s early police history.
Matsell is remembered by many readers today for Vocabulum; or, The Rogue's Lexicon (1859), a compact guide to criminal slang and thieves’ cant. He presented it as a practical aid for readers trying to understand police reports and the language of the city’s underworld, and it has lasted as a fascinating historical record of everyday speech on the margins.
His career joined politics, policing, and writing in a distinctly 19th-century way. For listeners interested in crime history, urban life, or the strange afterlives of slang, his work opens a small but memorable window onto old New York.