The Jack the Ripper Location Photographs: Dutfield's Yard and the Whitby Collection by Philip Hutchinson
Authors: Philip Hutchinson
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Introduction
This is not a book about Jack the Ripper. The available canon of Ripperological literature runs into three figures. This modest work concerns two sets of photographs, unrelated except for their subject matter, and taken sixty years apart. Some of these images were first published in the book I wrote with Robert Clack, The London of Jack the Ripper Then and Now , (Breedon Books, 2007) but others have previously only been seen publicly at lectures and are published here for the first time.
This is also not a book that will become a best-seller. Its demographic is marginal and the issues covered will only appeal to a limited number of those individuals.
Having moved on from generic knowledge of the case, many students of Ripper history now concentrate on other areas. A good proportion are interested in contemporary images of the East End of London and especially those locations with connections to the sequence of brutal murders that occurred in 1888. Although historical information is still being uncovered (albeit that it is widely acknowledged a ‘Eureka!’ moment is highly unlikely), some of the most exciting discoveries in research in the last few years have been photographic. I am fortunate indeed that I find myself the owner of many of these images.
I am the first to admit that the term ‘expert’ is relative and few in the field would class themselves as such. It has been a constant source of bewilderment to me that I have any standing amongst serious Ripper historians as I truly feel dwarfed in my understanding of the case compared to many of my associates, a good deal of whom have never published anything, but whose skills give flesh and bones to the writings of we others. The list of acknowledgements overleaf will bear testament to the fact that research is best undertaken in a pack.
In the first half of this book, you will find reproductions of every image from The Whitby Collection along with modern-day comparison shots. The known story of the life of the photographer is discussed. Following this, there is a detailed account of the painstaking research that went into the verification of an image some have cited as the most important photographic discovery in the case for twenty years, taken by one of the first Ripper Tourists when Queen Victoria still sat on the throne.
This book is dedicated to Margaret and Norman, and to Larry – the people from whom I obtained these photographs. Without them, you would not be able to see what you are about to see. I further wish to publicly offer my thanks to Brenda and Ed in Maryville, Tennessee, for their support and presence when I lectured on the case in the US in 2008.
Philip Hutchinson
Guildford
August 2009
Acknowledgements
I wish to give my thanks to the assistance and research skills of a large number of Ripper historians, and to individuals from organisations, who assisted (or offered to assist) me in my endeavours. They are, alphabetically:
Debra Arif, Paul Begg, Neil Bell, Tony Brewer, Robert Clack, Mike Covell, Ellen Engseth (UWM Libraries, Milwaukee), Stewart P Evans, Martin Fido, Chris George, Paul Gjenvick (Gjenvick-Gjønvick Archives), Margaret and Norman Green, Dee Anna Grimsrud (Wisconsin Historical Society), Jeff Korman (University of Baltimore), Larry Lingle, Jake Luukanen, Pete McClelland, Al Muchka (Milwaukee Public Museum), John Nondorf (Wisconsin Historical Society), Dr Timothy Riordan, Thomas Schachner, Chris Scott, Neal Sheldon, Jonathan Shorr PhD (University of Baltimore), Paul Smith (Thomas Cook Archives), Geraldine Strey (Wisconsin Historical Society), Dennis Weidner, Tom Wescott, Gareth Williams.
John Gordon Whitby
In the summer of 2000, I took a holiday in Lincoln. It was a type of package holiday organised by an elderly couple who ran a company providing educational historical excursions to parts of England. The holiday was not the most interesting of events and seemed to be comprised almost solely of long-retired
This is not a book about Jack the Ripper. The available canon of Ripperological literature runs into three figures. This modest work concerns two sets of photographs, unrelated except for their subject matter, and taken sixty years apart. Some of these images were first published in the book I wrote with Robert Clack, The London of Jack the Ripper Then and Now , (Breedon Books, 2007) but others have previously only been seen publicly at lectures and are published here for the first time.
This is also not a book that will become a best-seller. Its demographic is marginal and the issues covered will only appeal to a limited number of those individuals.
Having moved on from generic knowledge of the case, many students of Ripper history now concentrate on other areas. A good proportion are interested in contemporary images of the East End of London and especially those locations with connections to the sequence of brutal murders that occurred in 1888. Although historical information is still being uncovered (albeit that it is widely acknowledged a ‘Eureka!’ moment is highly unlikely), some of the most exciting discoveries in research in the last few years have been photographic. I am fortunate indeed that I find myself the owner of many of these images.
I am the first to admit that the term ‘expert’ is relative and few in the field would class themselves as such. It has been a constant source of bewilderment to me that I have any standing amongst serious Ripper historians as I truly feel dwarfed in my understanding of the case compared to many of my associates, a good deal of whom have never published anything, but whose skills give flesh and bones to the writings of we others. The list of acknowledgements overleaf will bear testament to the fact that research is best undertaken in a pack.
In the first half of this book, you will find reproductions of every image from The Whitby Collection along with modern-day comparison shots. The known story of the life of the photographer is discussed. Following this, there is a detailed account of the painstaking research that went into the verification of an image some have cited as the most important photographic discovery in the case for twenty years, taken by one of the first Ripper Tourists when Queen Victoria still sat on the throne.
This book is dedicated to Margaret and Norman, and to Larry – the people from whom I obtained these photographs. Without them, you would not be able to see what you are about to see. I further wish to publicly offer my thanks to Brenda and Ed in Maryville, Tennessee, for their support and presence when I lectured on the case in the US in 2008.
Philip Hutchinson
Guildford
August 2009
Acknowledgements
I wish to give my thanks to the assistance and research skills of a large number of Ripper historians, and to individuals from organisations, who assisted (or offered to assist) me in my endeavours. They are, alphabetically:
Debra Arif, Paul Begg, Neil Bell, Tony Brewer, Robert Clack, Mike Covell, Ellen Engseth (UWM Libraries, Milwaukee), Stewart P Evans, Martin Fido, Chris George, Paul Gjenvick (Gjenvick-Gjønvick Archives), Margaret and Norman Green, Dee Anna Grimsrud (Wisconsin Historical Society), Jeff Korman (University of Baltimore), Larry Lingle, Jake Luukanen, Pete McClelland, Al Muchka (Milwaukee Public Museum), John Nondorf (Wisconsin Historical Society), Dr Timothy Riordan, Thomas Schachner, Chris Scott, Neal Sheldon, Jonathan Shorr PhD (University of Baltimore), Paul Smith (Thomas Cook Archives), Geraldine Strey (Wisconsin Historical Society), Dennis Weidner, Tom Wescott, Gareth Williams.
John Gordon Whitby
In the summer of 2000, I took a holiday in Lincoln. It was a type of package holiday organised by an elderly couple who ran a company providing educational historical excursions to parts of England. The holiday was not the most interesting of events and seemed to be comprised almost solely of long-retired
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