Newly Discovered Tumblety Photo

[mklhawley]

Greetings all,

Since this newly discovered photo of Francis Tumblety is already available online, I wanted to post it here in order to give credit to its discoverer, historian Neil Storey.



Neil Storey published it in his newest book, The Dracula Secrets, Jack the Ripper and the Darkest Sources of Bram Stoker. It was on my Christmas List. There is a wealth of newly discovered information in his book.

Sincerely,

Mike

[Cogidubnus]

Thanks Mike and every good wish to Neil...He looks almost normal doesn't he?

Every good wish

Dave

[mklhawley]

Hi Dave,

You're so right. Pre-Civil War Tumblety had a single-minded focus on making money, but this photo shows no evidence of being flamboyant. Post-Civil War Tumblety went into semi-retirement, so he was no longer single-minded in money making. It seems to be a photo for private use with no purpose of self advertising. Interesting.

Sincerely,

Mike

[Iain Wilson]

Shame - the moustache has lost all its craziness!

[lynn cates]

almost not flamboyant

Hello Mike. Thanks for posting this.

"this photo shows no evidence of being flamboyant."

Well . . . take another look at his shirt.

Cheers.
LC

[mklhawley]

Hi Iain,

At least temporarily until he put it back on.

Hi Lynn,

I was comparing his photo with Red McDermitt's pictures, and one difference was his flashy shirt. It's what's inside that counts!

Sincerely,

Mike

[Dr. John Watson]

Thank you Mike and Neil Storey for the very interesting photo. Anything new on Tumblety is welcome. You indicate the photo comes from a private collection - does Neil identify the owner of the collection? Reason I ask is, I've seen other photographs purporting to be Tumblety which were obviously not, so a little provenence would be appreciated. That said, in comparing this new photo with the single known photo of Tumblety - the one where he's dressed as a foreign military officer with helmet - I do see a resemblance with Neil's photo, except for the length of the mustache. In most drawings of Tumblety's likeness, that mustache is notable for it's length. It's evident in the military photo and in the attached drawing showing him in a checkered shirt (which, incidently, looks nothing whatever like the men in either photo). Both of the attached illustrations supposedly represent Tumblety during the same time period as Neil's photograph. So while I definitely see a resemblance between the known photo and Neil's newly-discovered photo, I'd hope for some kind of confirming documentation. What do you think?

[Bridewell]

Hi Dave,

You're so right. Pre-Civil War Tumblety had a single-minded focus on making money, but this photo shows no evidence of being flamboyant. Post-Civil War Tumblety went into semi-retirement, so he was no longer single-minded in money making. It seems to be a photo for private use with no purpose of self advertising. Interesting.

Sincerely,

Mike

This looks like a Carte De Visite.

Regards, Bridewell.

[Bridewell]

Was Tumblety known to be left-handed? The way he's holding the document (in the military photo) would be unnatural to me as a right-hander.

Regards, Bridewell.

[mklhawley]

This looks like a Carte De Visite.

Regards, Bridewell.

Hi Bridewell,

He certainly did visit France on a few occasions.

Sincerely,
Mike

[mklhawley]

Was Tumblety known to be left-handed? The way he's holding the document (in the military photo) would be unnatural to me as a right-hander.

Regards, Bridewell.

Good question. I'll look into it.

[mklhawley]

Thank you Mike and Neil Storey for the very interesting photo. Anything new on Tumblety is welcome. You indicate the photo comes from a private collection - does Neil identify the owner of the collection? Reason I ask is, I've seen other photographs purporting to be Tumblety which were obviously not, so a little provenence would be appreciated. That said, in comparing this new photo with the single known photo of Tumblety - the one where he's dressed as a foreign military officer with helmet - I do see a resemblance with Neil's photo, except for the length of the mustache. In most drawings of Tumblety's likeness, that mustache is notable for it's length. It's evident in the military photo and in the attached drawing showing him in a checkered shirt (which, incidently, looks nothing whatever like the men in either photo). Both of the attached illustrations supposedly represent Tumblety during the same time period as Neil's photograph. So while I definitely see a resemblance between the known photo and Neil's newly-discovered photo, I'd hope for some kind of confirming documentation. What do you think?

Hi Dr. Watson,

I'm interested in the same issue, and I will be discussing more later.

Sincerely,

Mike

[Stephen Thomas]

Was Tumblety known to be left-handed? The way he's holding the document (in the military photo) would be unnatural to me as a right-hander.

Oh come on.

The paper is held in the right hand.

The left hand is clenched and not touching the paper.

[DGB]

I bought and read this book soon after it came out and have been wondering about the provenance of this photo since I first saw it.

Very little is made of the photo in the book.

Looking at the two pictures now, it seems that the Riorden Tumblety has lobed ears, whereas Storey's Tumblety does not.

[mklhawley]

I bought and read this book soon after it came out and have been wondering about the provenance of this photo since I first saw it.

Very little is made of the photo in the book.

Looking at the two pictures now, it seems that the Riorden Tumblety has lobed ears, whereas Storey's Tumblety does not.

Hi DGB,

I noticed that, too. If they are not the same person, here are my thoughts. Riordan's Tumblety photo was pasted onto the front cover of Tumblety's 1871 autobiography, which makes him look far younger with a thinner face than the picture Dr. Watson showed in the earlier post (#7). Tumblety's 1866 autobiography had the picture of Tumblety being 'wrongly' arrested, while his 1872 autobiography had an engraving of him in a different uniform than his 1871 photo, with a total of five medals and he looked older and heavier.

In my opinion, we can be assured that the 1871 photo came from Tumblety himself, but keep in mind, he was notorious for having others write his letters. Tumblety was known for waxing his mustache in later life in order to give the impression of having a black mustache, probably to keep a youthful look. I would not put it past the untrustworthy Tumblety to have used a young handsome model for the picture.

Storey's Tumblety photo came from Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine's private collection. Hall Caine had an intimate relationship with Tumblety from 1874 to 1876. This was meant for his boyfriend Hall Caine; a man who clearly knew what Tumblety looked like.

Sincerely,

Mike