What is the origin of the image of Jack the Ripper as a gentleman wearing a top hat?

[Marcel Prost]

Hi all,

The “gentleman in a top hat” image of Jack the Ripper is one of the most enduring but also misleading cultural inventions around the case.

Most ripperologists agree that Jack the Ripper would certainly have looked like an ordinary man, who would not stand out, and would go completely unnoticed on the streets of Whitechapel.

So, what is the origin of the ubiquitous image of Jack the Ripper as a gentleman wearing a top hat?

Do we know who created it? And when?

[seanr]

The top hatted fiendish gentlemen is a theatrical and cinematic trope (think of the classic stereotype of the top hatted villain tying a woman to train tracks) and seems to have bled across into portrayals of Mr Hyde.

It certainly carried over to 'Jack the Ripper' in the 1959 film of that name. It certainly seems to evoke much of the visual culture of the mythos around these crimes. Is there an earlier source for the top-hatted murderer-caricature?

[seanr]

Alfred Hitchcock's 'The Lodger' is considered to have been inspired by the Ripper crimes. His main character, who is suspected in the film of being the serial killer known as The Avenger, carries a small black bag and wears a cape and a hat - but not a top hat.

[The Rookie Detective]

There were 2 separate professional productions of Jekyll and Hyde that ran concurrently in London during the time of the murders.

IIIRC both productions started in early to mid-August respectively. (I'd need to check my notes on that)

So it stands to reason why the classic image of the Ripper came to be a man in top hat with a black bag.

Dr Jeckyl of course being a doctor with a split personality.

There are some striking similarities between the J&H story and the myths surrounding the Ripper.


Some fascinating parallels.

[c.d.]

Maybe not the origin but I think this might have contributed to the image - That American doctor who went around to hospitals trying to get samples of uteri. So if Jack was a doctor that is how he probably would have dressed.

c.d.

[Wickerman]

There were 2 separate professional productions of Jekyll and Hyde that ran concurrently in London during the time of the murders.

IIIRC both productions started in early to mid-August respectively. (I'd need to check my notes on that)

So it stands to reason why the classic image of the Ripper came to be a man in top hat with a black bag.

Dr Jeckyl of course being a doctor with a split personality.

There are some striking similarities between the J&H story and the myths surrounding the Ripper.


Some fascinating parallels.

Thats right Chris, that is where I think the Top Hat, and Gentlemanly Toff appearance first became associated with the Whitechapel Murderer.

[seanr]

Image of Richard Mansfield as Mr Hyde, photo credited to Paul Wilstach in 1909 but was it really taken then? - anyway this is the Mr Hyde he played in the 1888 production. Notice the lack of top hat. So, when did Mr Hyde start being portrayed as wearing a top hat?

Is there a single representation of the Jack the Ripper caricture wearing a top hat, prior to 1959?

[The Rookie Detective]

Thats right Chris, that is where I think the Top Hat, and Gentlemanly Toff appearance first became associated with the Whitechapel Murderer.

Apparently, the official authorised version (featuring Mansfield) debuted on August 4th 1888 at the Lyceum, and the "unauthorised" version 2 days later at a different venue; the latter production lasted only for a handful of performances before being shut down due to legal ramifications.

Both of course both stage productions were based on the original play "Strange Case of Dr Jeckyl and Mr Hyde." from 1886.

I think the coincidence of the Lyceum staging the production from August 4th, and the commencement of the Ripper murders, is rather intriguing indeed.

Martha Tabram was murdered 2 nights (and an early morning) after the production debuted at the Lyceum.

In fact, Martha was murdered just a few hours after the alternate version of Dr Jeckyl and Mr Hyde debuted. (The unauthorised version)

Odd timing.

It begs the question; if the Ripper was a doctor or surgeon, did he watch the production at the Lyceum, or the alternate version?

And if so....did it inspire him to unleash his inner demons?

[Mike J. G.]

From what I've read, the image of a top-hatted killer, with a black case, came about quite early on, oweing to the fact that many doctors wore top hats to present themselves in a professional and gentlemanly manner, and it was suspected early on that Jack may have been a doctor, and then that line of thinking seems to have been abandoned but the caricature of Gentleman Jack remained.

[Marcel Prost]

Hi Mike J. G.

When you wrote Gentleman Jack, I could only remember this:

[Marcel Prost]

From what I've read, the image of a top-hatted killer, with a black case, came about quite early on, oweing to the fact that many doctors wore top hats to present themselves in a professional and gentlemanly manner, and it was suspected early on that Jack may have been a doctor, and then that line of thinking seems to have been abandoned but the caricature of Gentleman Jack remained.

That makes a lot of sense — the top hat and case really do feel like they tie into the Victorian image of a doctor rather than anything the killer himself was described as wearing.

I suppose once people made that connection, the “Gentleman Jack” caricature stuck in the public imagination even after the doctor theory faded.

It’s fascinating how these early impressions can outlast the actual evidence and become the dominant image we remember today.

If we go to Google Images and type in Jack the Ripper, the top hat is ubiquitous.