Project Gutenberg is hosting this remarkable 1963 FBI fingerprinting manual, with an introduction by J Edgar Hoover.
1. Fingerprinting the Newly Dead.When the fingers are flexible it is often possible to secure inked fingerprint impressions of a deceased person through the regular inking process on a standard fingerprint card. Experience has proved that this task can be made easier if the deceased is laid face down and palms down on a table (fig. 388).
(via Schneier)