Was the Ripper a Deerstalker ?

[Stephen]

Perhaps the Ripper wore a Deerstalker because he had once worked as one . When a Deerstalker grallochs a deer it is very Ripper like . The knife used by the Ripper may have been a gralloching knife . Just a thought .

[Adam Went]

The first consideration of importance before leaping to those sorts of conclusions is to decide whether the witness is reliable and the description is likely to be accurate or not.

Jack seemed to have a few different hats, and could have been anything from a deerstalker to a sailor, judging by that.

Cheers,
Adam.

[Stephen]

I mentioned the Deerstalker because those who wear them at work are trained to gut animals at a fair speed. I did not know Jack was seen in a sailors hat ? Royal Navy ? Or was it just a hat often worn by merchant seamen ?

[The Grave Maurice]

Welcome, Stephen:

The grallocher theory has been raised in the past, usually in connection with Prince Albert Victor as a suspect. (Great word, isn't it, "gralloch".) At least one witness did describe a possible suspect as wearing a deerstalker. The sailor idea came from a suspect's general appearance and the fact that he wore a peaked cap which, I assume, resembled those worn by seamen from the London docks.

The deerstalker hat was, as I understand it, designed to keep the sun off the face and neck of hunters in the country. You'd think that anyone spotted wearing one in Whitechapel would have attracted attention.

[The Grave Maurice]

Apology

I'm sorry, Stephen, I looked at your number of posts, not your sign up date (which I just noticed) and thought you were a newbie. You probably know more about this subject than I.

If you'll excuse me, I'll now go and teach my grandmother how to suck eggs.

[Stephen]

Thanks

Thanks for the feedback Maurice .

[kensei]

I have always had the strong impression that the Ripper may have worn more or less the same outfit or at least the same coat and cap every time he went out looking for a victim, and that the varying descriptions of a peaked, sailor's, or deerstalker cap could easily be put down to the witnesses being asked to recount something they glimpsed quickly in dim light and having no idea they should be paying closer attention because it would be important later.

[Stephen]

I agree , from different angles in dim light these hats could all look similar

[lynn cates]

peaks

Hello Stephen, Kensei. Indeed. A deerstalker may not be recognised as such unless one sees the rear peak.

Cheers.
LC

[DVV]

I have always had the strong impression that the Ripper may have worn more or less the same outfit or at least the same coat and cap every time he went out looking for a victim, and that the varying descriptions of a peaked, sailor's, or deerstalker cap could easily be put down to the witnesses being asked to recount something they glimpsed quickly in dim light and having no idea they should be paying closer attention because it would be important later.

Hi Kensei, thanks for sharing these thoughts. Excellent.

[Adam Went]

Stephen:

Fair enough, it's always a possibility....it's just that IMO we can't ( or shouldn't ) place too much faith in witness accounts when it comes to the smaller details.

Having said that, there's surely no doubt that Jack knew what he was doing with a knife. But then that could fall back to any number of occupations or hobbies.

Cheers,
Adam.

[Carol]

I read the other day that when the animal was gralloched the head was also cut off and thrown to the dogs as a reward. Was this common practice?

Carol