"A Slum Interior in Miller's Court"

[Chris Scott]

Thanks to all for the additional details and comments
Chris

[Archaic]

re: The Wire Items Being Made In the Illustration

Thanks for finding this illustration Chris. And great work tracing it Rob!

I've been looking at the wire implements the couple are creating. If you look at lower left you can see a wire toasting-fork (looking like a 4-pronged trident) sticking up from the pile of goods they have made. Bread, potatoes, etc., could be toasted over a small fire or even a few hot embers using such a tool.

The man and woman are each holding a simple spiraling wire toaster. I believe it is a very simple version of "grid-iron" designed to "pinch" the piece of bread or other item being toasted so it doesn't just fall off into the fire (I'm sure we've all experienced that keen disappointment while toasting marshmallows- just as the item becomes perfectly cooked, it falls into the ashes.) I think this triple-looped variety worked by simple tension, with either the center loop or both side loops lifting up to wedge the food item between them. It might allow the user to warm a little bread & cheese, because it would allow the food item to be held horizontally over the heat source.

Well-to-do people used elegant silver toasting-forks & toasting-racks cleverly designed to hold the food securely in place. They were made with long necks and wooden handles to help avoid scorched hands. Poor people used plain wire tools, which must have led to frequent burns.

The wire-workers in the illustration are wearing no gloves, so there hands would have been raw from bending the wire. The simple utilitarian wire items shown in the illustration were probably sold very cheaply to other low-income people who lacked regular kitchen facilities for cooking their food. I wonder if Mary Kelly would have owned something like that?

Best regards,
Archaic

PS: The wire toasting-fork in the photo is available on Ebay. Most are fancier than this one, as the cheapest type were subjected to the heaviest use and fewer of them survived.

[jason_c]

The window does look fairly central in the room, which does correspond to the room above Kelly's.

[Garry Wroe]

Agreed. It's just a pity that there is insufficient information to identify the room occupied by the Lancastrian wife and daughter. A shilling per night suggests that it was a lodging house. If so, it certainly looks to have been superior to those in Dorset Street and thereabouts.

[Bridewell]

Wireworkers

Didn't No. 12 (upstairs?) overlook Kelly's room from across the yard?
Somehow I envisaged this end unit as being where Catherine Pickell lived (in 1888), upstairs or down I'm not sure.
It does seem like Rob has the ID spot on here.

Thanks, Jon S.

Hi Jon,

Rob's surmise certainly fits with the wireworking shown in the drawing, and with the age of the people depicted. It's amazing to me that someone can identify people in a sketch by researching historical references, but I agree that, beyond any reasonable doubt, Rob has indeed identified them. Brilliant work, Rob.

Regards, Bridewell.

[Wickerman]

Didn't No. 12 (upstairs?) overlook Kelly's room from across the yard?
Somehow I envisaged this end unit as being where Catherine Pickell lived (in 1888), upstairs or down I'm not sure.
It does seem like Rob has the ID spot on here.

Thanks, Jon S.

[Chris Scott]

Rob
Having had a look at the census listing for Millers Court for 1891 I am sure you are right. Both were 65 and wire worker would fit in precisely with the description and the drawing
Thanks
Chris

[Rob Clack]

H Chris,

Going by the article which accompanied the illustration I believe the couple are William and Mary A Harrison who lived at 12 Millers Court in the 1891 census. If that's the case then it's the same room Kitty Roman was murdered in 1909.

The details are:
William Harrison age 65 Wire worker born Lambeth
Mary A Harrison age 65 born either Cornwall or Camberwell, it's not clear on the census return.

This is the article:




Rob

[Wickerman]

So are we looking for a Millers Court resident, who had a cat?
:-)

[Chris Scott]

many thanks
Rob to the rescue again:-)
That is a much clearer image of it and it clearly says Millers Court - I wonder which house/room it was sketched in
Thanks Rob
Chris

Ive redone it in grayscale - sometimes helps with detail

[Rob Clack]

Hi Chris,

It is from the Saturday 10 January 1891 issue





Rob

[Stephen Thomas]

If this is a genuine sketch done in Millers Court then I would suggest that it could only be either Kelly's room ie #13 or the room directly above ie #19. The clue is in the unusual window in the background which seems to match the left hand ones on the photo and a couple of drawings and can be seen to have no less than 20 single panes of glass. I doubt that such elaborate windows would have been present in the houses in the rest of the court.

[Chris Scott]

Thanks guys for the feedback
I have had a trawl through the ILN archive for 1891 onwards using the serahc words slum, interior and Whitechapel in various combinations but haven't found anything so far.
I'd like to get a look at the original in the ILN to confirm the date and also that it specifically says it is Millers Court and not just a Whitechapel slum interior.

[ChrisGeorge]

Hi Chris

The print is also available through Amazon where it is stated:

Image Description: A slum interior in Millers Court, Whitechapel Date 1891
For any queries regarding this item please contact Mary Evans c/o Media Storehouse quoting Media Reference 4342827

The scene is even available on a mug from Amazon.

Chris

[Bridewell]

I've been trying to work out what the two people are doing. Twisting wire to make whisks & fly-swatters perhaps?

I'm also hoping the Impressionists don't read anything into the shadow cast by the female figure

Regards, Bridewell.