Was Jack the Ripper a Teacher?

[j.r-ahde]

Hello you all!

I have to admit, that I laughed, when seeing the headline of this thread!

And to be quite honest; a piece of chalk is just a piece of chalk. One could say, that he was pub-owner on the same basis!

All the best
Jukka

[Robert]

So we're looking for a teacher who owns a pub, plays darts, has a stall in the market place and plays hopscotch when he's had a drop.

[bluecedar]

But I thought one of the inspectors said that the message was definitely written by the murderer. I'm new to this board so I guess I have a lot to learn....

[bluecedar]

That's me! I make people laugh a lot, often unintentionally. I guess I didn't realize that chalk was used in so many different trades and professions during this time. It's hardly used in any now. When we think of chalk now, we think of school blackboards.

[Mike Covell]

I wonder if JK Stephen carried a piece of chalk around?

[KatBradshaw]

We get blamed for everything!!

I have to admit that as a Teacher of History myself I try and bring in Jack the Ripper when ever I can.
I think its nice that people can offer up their ideas. These are public boards after all and people come her to learn and try out their ideas.

[Jon Guy]

If the killer did write the message, he may have found the chalk amongst Eddowes possessions.

[Fisherman]

Jon Guy writes:

"If the killer did write the message, he may have found the chalk amongst Eddowes possessions."

Reasonable, I suppose, Jon - but why would she have a piece of chalk in her pockets? What use would she have had for it?

The best,
Fisherman

[jmenges]

but why would she have a piece of chalk in her pockets? What use would she have had for it?

* 12 pieces white rag
* 1 piece course linen, white
* 1 piece of blue and white shirting, 3 cornered
* 1 piece red flannel with pins and needles
* 1 ball hemp
* 1 piece of old white apron with repair
* Several buttons and a thimble

The chalk could have been used as an aid for mending clothes.

*See Rippercast Episode 30- A Clue in Whitechapel for a discussion on this exact point.

JM

[Jon Guy]

Hi Fisherman

As Jon points out the chalk could have been used repairing clothes, it may have been located on her person with the thimble.

Remember, she also went out hawking, and may have spent part of her day around Middlesex St market as John Kelly was told of her arrest by someone from "the lane" ( Petticoat Lane ), just around the corner from where she was found pissed up on the pavement.

[Fisherman]

An aid for repairing clothes??? What do you use it for? Sewing?

Seriously, I know that tailors use chalk, but would a woman like Eddowes do that too? I´m not all that familiar with such things, I´m afraid, so thanks for helping out, guys!

The best, both of you!
Fisherman

[Limehouse]

There were lots of tailors in the area so it could have been written using tailor's chalk. I bet it was easy to pick up in the streets. Also, when I was a kid living in north east London, we had natural chalk in the soil in our back gardens. We used to dig the soild over looking for some. We even found pink chalk at times!!

[Natalie Severn]

The writing was half an inch high and written in a "neat,schoolboy hand".Tailors chalk is usually round and flat so you can let it work around cuffs, collars etc.
As a teacher- who used chalk for a number of years - I used to dread writing on the unyielding surface of a shiny, flat to the wall chalk board -especially in the older school buildings.When I went to look at the Wentworth Street [dwellings] with some casebook members,we were able to find similar samples of the facia tiles in surrounding buildings and the tiles looked as though they would have been quite an unyielding surface and to many people today a bit tricky to write on at all let alone write in a "neat,schoolboy hand" in half inch high letters.
But ofcourse in 1888 anyone who had been to elementary school and been taught the "3 R"s" would have been familiar with writing in chalk and as others have already noted there would have been many who used it daily.

[Suzi]

Hi all- I did post on 'The Chalk Line ' thread when it was suggested that Policemen carried chalk to draw lines around unfortunate murdered bodies found in the streets...Well! if that was the case that would put the Old Bill totally in the frame for the scribbling wouldn't it!! (NOT mentioning the other threads here of course)

Hi Norma-
As someone who used chalk with aplomb in the classroom for 23 yrs!!! -I too hate the departure of that wonderful thing and THE BLACKBOARD*!

[*The rolling over one was fun though You could write the best lesson up - (complete with illustrations)-until your class realised they could write on the other two sides and then turn it over and wait till you did the same thing to start the lesson!]

-- -And at least anything's better than those bloody things you have to fiddle about with your laptop and projector and whitescreen isn't it!

Gawd !!! -call me a luddite!-I still have a hankering for bottles of Quink ink in those bottles and boxes (can see them now!) - and if you were really flash you got the turquoise one!!!..

..Ooooooh Gawd and Platignum pens (A POSH present at Christmas I recall!) !!!!...God you were flash if when later after the filling up from the bottle with the little lever thingy- you had those pen cartridge thingies that used to explode in your pencil case!! (Do kids (students!) still have pencil cases????

Suz xxxxxxxx

[Suzi]

Interesting link here to a guy who uses Quink for some of his lovely artwork!!!

https://www.beciward.com/timespacefig.cfm

OMG the man and woman one reminds me of my Mrs M stuff! spooky 'eh!