Jack the Ripper Tech

[Bridewell]

Periscope

In 1854, E.H. Marie-Davy (Edme Hippolyte) invented the first naval periscope, so the technology was in existence. It could have been usefully deployed by the police perhaps, had they thought of it. To be fair, though, I suspect that an effective hand-held example wasn't around until the trench warfare of WWI.
Regards, Bridewell.

[Bridewell]

Binoculars

Porro Prism Binoculars had been around since 1854. Were any observers posted in high vantage points by the police? I've never read of it, but it seems too obvious a possibility not to have been considered.

[Simon Wood]

Hi Luke,

The sound quality of Victorian telephones was probably better than my Verizon cellphone.

And I'm also willing to bet the operators were more polite and helpful.

Regards,

Simon

[Robert]

Luke, Ancestry have British phone books going back to 1880.

Of course, the first man in the phone book had a problem, since there was no one for him to ring and nobody to ring him.

[The Grave Maurice]

...there was no one for him to ring and nobody to ring him.

...which was the origin of the well-known phrase "ring around the caller".

[Bridewell]

Worthwhile

Luke, Ancestry have British phone books going back to 1880.

Of course, the first man in the phone book had a problem, since there was no one for him to ring and nobody to ring him.

Ancestry is a good source but you need to subscribe to get any worthwhile information. If seeking copies of certificates, though, it's much cheaper (& quicker) to go through GRO. It's quite surprising how many subscribers there were to the embryonic 'phone system.

[Robert]

Bridewell, yes, you do need to subscribe. It's a business.

[Bridewell]

Ancestry

Bridewell, yes, you do need to subscribe. It's a business.

I do subscribe - can't really afford to, but there's a lot of stuff on there.

[Robert]

Hi Bridewell

Yes, but their search engine can be maddening.

[sdreid]

Yes, I need to subscribe to that as well - not only for research but also to correct some errors about my family.

[sdreid]

The semi-automatic pistol was still about 5 years off in Jack's time but there was the Mershon & Hollingsworth clockwork self-cocking revolver that took it one step beyond double-action.

[sdreid]

Were there any electric lights, either arc or incandescent, anywhere in London in 1888?

There was also a third type of electric light in existence during Jack's time. It was a primitive sort of fluorescent light known as a Geissler Tube.

[Ginger]

Were there any electric lights, either arc or incandescent, anywhere in London in 1888?

I love old light bulbs! http://bulbcollector.com/gateway/Inc...ment/1881-1900 will show you some of the incandescent bulbs that were in use around the Ripper's time, both in England and America.

-Ginger

[Ginger]

Were there any electric lights, either arc or incandescent, anywhere in London in 1888?

A more comprehensive answer:


Morris' London Business Directory for 1884 (JSC Morris; Hop Exchange; London; 1884) lists 'electrician' as a trade category, and nine of them are shown in private practice in Metropolitan London. None of them are in the east end - I'd imagine it was among the last places to get electricity.

Additionally, there's a trade magazine 'The Electrician', published in Fleet Street, and a few firms of electrical engineers listed.

There are probably a good 25 'electric light and power' companies listed, among them Anglo-American Brush Electric Light Co, Swan Electric Light Co, and Edison Electric Light Co, all early giants. Some are obviously only business offices (Edison's Indian division is listed, as is an Australian firm, and a Scottish and a South African concern share an office) but the majority seem to be small electric generating companies. None in Whitechapel, though, which isn't really surprising, as it was a new and rather costly technology.

Early electric companies generally served rather small areas, and most of these seem to be concentrated in the City proper. Additionally, a few are south of the Thames across from the Tower, but I doubt if they sent power across the river. If Whitechapel had electric light in 1888, it was probably a privately owned and operated installation with its own generator, such as a factory might have.

I'd imagine that by 1888 most people in London would have seen an electric light in operation at some time, even if it was still out of reach for home use.

-Ginger

[sdreid]

I wonder which were DC and which, if any, were AC.