Jack The Ripper Memorabilia / Collectables

[ob49]

Hi,

I would greatly appreciate any advice on the best places to aquire original collectable material relating to Jack the Ripper and the Whitechapel murders. I presume the most obvious would be newspapers / magazines of the time (Star, Times, Illustrated Police News, Punch, Puck etc).

I have looked on variuos Auction sites and there does not seem to be too much out there that is related other than paintings by Sickert etc (slightly tenuos!).

Any advice would be appreciated.

Also if anyone has any Original items that they are interested in selling I would be very interested.

Thank you,

Oliver

[Chris Scott]

Hi Oliver
The field you have inquired about is, as I'm sure you know, a potential minefield in that the few allegedly original Ripper related items I have seen for sale can go for absurdly inflated prices and it can be difficult, if not impossible, to establish a reliable provenance for them.
The only items that come up fairly regularly (on Ebay for example) are contemporary newspapers but again caution is needed. I have often seen newspapers from 1888 advertised under a "Jack the Ripper" banner but the small print makes it clear that these items only date from that period and do not necessarily have any Ripper related articles within them. Also, in 1988, the centenary of the murders a series of reprints were done and I have seen these advertised for sale, not always making it clear that these are not originals.
Other items appear fairly regularly such as postcards and movie posters, but their relevance to the case is arguably oblique. Items directly related to the case or people involved are, understandably, very few and far between and will attract a premium price. Recent examples in this category would be the alleged portion of Eddowes's shawl and I understand that the Maybrick watch may still be for sale. Occasional autograph items appear - I have recently seen examples from William Gull, Richard Mansfield and Lewis Carroll, but, of course, it depends how closely you think these individuals are related to the case.
Another field are rare and first edition Ripper related books - memoirs, limited run editions etc. but again these often attract high prices.
I wish you luck but can only repeat the old age - pereat emptor, let the buyer beware!
Regards
Chris

[ob49]

Thanks Chris. Useful information - I will keep looking then!

If anyone does have anything they are considering selling In would be keen to know.

Thanks again,

Oliver

[Bailey]

I've always been enthused about the idea of getting hold of a newspaper from the time - something with a front page report would be nice. If such a treasure were to be found, what do we think it would sell for, folks?

B.

[Ryan_Miller]

On the topic of finding Ripper related treasures, I was wondering if anyone knows where to purchase a large print of the Whitechapel area in 1888?

[Sam Flynn]

On the topic of finding Ripper related treasures, I was wondering if anyone knows where to purchase a large print of the Whitechapel area in 1888?

A reprint of the 1894 Ordnance Survey Map of Whitechapel, Spitalfields and The Bank is probably your best bet. You should be able to order a copy here.

[Ryan_Miller]

Mr. Flynn,
Once again you save the day. Thank you so much.