Faecal matter on apron piece

[Simon Wood]

Hi Maria,

A cold compress usually does the trick.

I sense you somehow missed the underlying sub-text in my post.

All our sources are highly questionable. There is no valid reason to believe any one over any other.

A self-confessed "conspiracist"?

As I explained to Monty, I am exploring the possibility of a conspiracy/intrigue/plot/ploy etc. etc. [as anyone in search of the truth and not in deep denial should] and freely admit that the idea makes far more sense than the worn-out trope of a serial-killing Jack the Ripper dragging his unfulfilled lustmord around the streets of the East End whilst outwitting two police forces for all eternity.

Regards,

Simon

[PaulB]

I seem to have heard that the Pinkerton papers were in Chicago, only recently (post 2000) transferred to DC.
I don't suppose that the prostitute in question has anything to do with the Ms. Worth sometimes discussed by Lynn?
I think Adam Worth was indirectly connected to the Cavendish, as he stole and was about to resell a Gainsborough painting representing a lady from the Cavendish clan when he got arrested. Small world.

To Paul Begg:
Can I email you about the conference later tonight? (I'm burning up with fever.)

Yes, of course. Take care.

[mariab]

I sense you somehow missed the underlying sub-text in my post.

Didn't miss it, was just trying to be discreet about "low flying pigs".
And was just teasing about “a self-confessed conspiracist". :-)

and freely admit that the idea makes far more sense than the worn-out trope of a serial-killing Jack the Ripper dragging his unfulfilled lustmord around the streets of the East End whilst outwitting two police forces for all eternity.

Like it didn't happen even recently, with the Green River Killer (this one going on for decades) and in a multitude of cases.

[PaulB]

All our sources are highly questionable. There is no valid reason to believe any one over any other.

Historians seem to manage it all the time, Simon. Not prioritizing sources is just bad history.

[Simon Wood]

Hi Maria,

What on earth has the Green River Killer or any other serial-killing nutbag of recent years got to do with the price of fish?

You cannot retro-fit motive, opportunity, locality, mobility or any other aspect of these more modern cases to the Whitechapel murders.

To do so is nothing more than a desperate attempt to make the cherished idea of Jack the Ripper come true.

Regards,

Simon

[mariab]

Hi Maria,
What on earth has the Green River Killer or any other serial-killing nutbag of recent years got to do with the price of fish?
You cannot retro-fit motive, opportunity, locality, mobility or any other aspect of these more modern cases to the Whitechapel murders.

For one thing, the Whitechapel murders were modern, in the sense that we have a serial killer very much in the way defined as today.
Second of all, I was referring to the inability of the police to catch the perp due to difficulties with resources/logistics.
Plus the Ripper (besides all questions of suspectology) most probably WAS approached by the police at some point, the way Ridgway was.

[Simon Wood]

Hi Paul,

Historians usually insist on a fairly bullet-proof set of reasons for giving a higher priority to one source over another.

But in the matter of JtR those bullet-proof reasons remain elusive.

Regards,

Simon

[Simon Wood]

Hi Maria,

You're trying desperately to find some resonance between JtR and the century-later Green River Killer.

It is merely a widely-held belief that the Whitechapel murders were the work of one person, and all we have in support of this is conjecture, rumour, contradiction and gossip. Proof remains at a premium.

However, the truth may have been very different.

What's your problem with that?

Regards,

Simon

[PaulB]

Hi Paul,

Historians usually insist on a fairly bullet-proof set of reasons for giving a higher priority to one source over another.

But in the matter of JtR those bullet-proof reasons remain elusive.

Regards,

Simon

Simon,
I think you'll find that historians recognise that no set of reasons is 'fairly bullet proof', which is one of the many reasons why history is fluid and subject to change, but prioritising sources, in the first instance at least, is nevertheless a straightforward process which follows generally accepted basic criteria.

[Tom_Wescott]

What on earth has the Green River Killer or any other serial-killing nutbag of recent years got to do with the price of fish?

Trying dumping a bunch of corpses in YOUR lakes and see if the fisherman don't charge you more for your fish, pal.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[ChrisGeorge]

For one thing, the Whitechapel murders were modern, in the sense that we have a serial killer very much in the way defined as today.
Second of all, I was referring to the inability of the police to catch the perp due to difficulties with resources/logistics.
Plus the Ripper (besides all questions of suspectology) most probably WAS approached by the police at some point, the way Ridgway was.

Hi Maria

With due respect, that's sheer speculation on your part that the Ripper "most probably WAS approached by the police at some point, the way Ridgway was." True, that might have been so if the Ripper was a local man, but I think it's less likely if he was not from the area. We simply don't know if the Ripper was ever questioned.

Best regards

Chris

[mariab]

Simon, you're trying to proselytise me? ;-) I hear that this consists a felony in California.
The wet cloth though was a sound advice. I might try it on later, as I could practically bake eggs on my forehead right now. (Just the idea of it makes me hungry.)

Hi Maria
With due respect, that's sheer speculation on your part that the Ripper "most probably WAS approached by the police at some point, the way Ridgway was." True, that might have been so if the Ripper was a local man, but I think it's less likely if he was not from the area. We simply don't know if the Ripper was ever questioned.

Absolutely, I'm only speculating. But a fair possibility that he was JUST there, watching the police sweating it.

[Simon Wood]

Hi Maria,

Proselytise you?

Perhaps in time I may be able to convert a true believer in Jack the Ripper—possibly the greatest scam ever devised.

In the meantime, may you forever chase your phantom with a heart brimful of hope.

Regards,

Simon

[Cogidubnus]

Bernard Porter book

Hi Lynn

I nearly died just then...I entered that book into amazon.co.uk and found the cheapest example quoted second-hand at £113...then went to my usual supplier and found an example for just over a tenner including postage...and on the basis of a price of that nature I'll add it to my (somewhat long) list...

My one compensation is that the last of my two sets of female twins (plus incidental boy child) has just (Friday) left home and I'm getting her room as a den...oh god at last somewhere other than the sitting room shelves, the dining room wall, the bureaux and the bedroom shelves to store my precious books!

All the best

Dave

[mariab]

Dave,
you can order it from a library and have it xeroxed. What I do.