Crime Museum video with Keith Skinner

[HelenaWojtczak]

Faces in Court 1893-1918: Drawings of William Hartley from New Scotland Yard's Crime Museum
Wednesday, 24 April 2013 - 1:00pm
Museum of London

http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/faces-in-court-1893-1918-drawings-of-william-hartley-from-new-scotland-yards

[Mayerling]

Hi Helena,

I just sat through the lecture, which was wonderful. Did you use the Crime Museum when you researched the Chapman Book?

Jeff

[HelenaWojtczak]

Hi Helena,

I just sat through the lecture, which was wonderful. Did you use the Crime Museum when you researched the Chapman Book?

Jeff

Hello Jeff!

Contrary to numerous reports of various items belonging to Chapman supposedly being held in the museum, there isn't anything except mugshots of him, and sketches of him and court witnesses.

Helena

[Nemo]

Hi Helena

Your post led me to check out some of the exhibits in the Black Museum and I came across some radio dramatisations by Orson Welles based on objects in the museum

In the programme based on the crimes of Chapman it is stated that there is a straight razor belonging to him there

Here's the link - episode 44 - called "The straight razor"

http://retro-otr.com/channel/police-drama/black-museum/

[Mayerling]

The razor may have been there once, but that series of Orson Welles radio shows (done in England while he was trying to self-finance his film of "Othello" from 1951 - 1954) were done more than half a century ago, and some of the items are possibly missing now.

Jeff

[HelenaWojtczak]

Hi Helena

Your post led me to check out some of the exhibits in the Black Museum and I came across some radio dramatisations by Orson Welles based on objects in the museum

In the programme based on the crimes of Chapman it is stated that there is a straight razor belonging to him there

Here's the link - episode 44 - called "The straight razor"

http://retro-otr.com/channel/police-drama/black-museum/

Hello Nemo and thank you for thinking of me! I came across that drama over a year ago and have included a description and critique of it in my book.

The razor may have been there once, but that series of Orson Welles radio shows (done in England while he was trying to self-finance his film of "Othello" from 1951 - 1954) were done more than half a century ago, and some of the items are possibly missing now.

Jeff

The programme claims it was a case of razors. Keith Skinner has searched the records for me and there is no trace of any razor or case of razors belonging to Chapman ever having been held there. And yet ... it is hard to believe the programme makers could blatantly invent such a tale.


Helena

[Nemo]

Thanks Helena

I'll listen again, but I think it only mentioned one razor in the museum

I'm sure Orson said razors like this one used to come in sets of seven so that you had one for every day of the week, not that there was a case of 7 in the museum, but I might have misheard him

Still - I wonder if such an item has been lost within the museum or whether it was removed from the museum for some reason

The lecture video was very interesting by the way - thanks for the link

Nemo

[HelenaWojtczak]

I'll listen again, but I think it only mentioned one razor in the museum

Still - I wonder if such an item has been lost within the museum or whether it was removed from the museum for some reason

Nemo

At the beginning Welles said a razor from a box of seven. At the end he says that "the case of razors remains in its customary place" in Scotland Yard. (It's actually quite muffled and hard to make out what he is saying sometimes.)

Yes it may indeed have been lost or mis-filed or removed. Pretty academic, though: the Ripper didn't use a cut throat to do his deeds, and Chapman didn't kill anyone with one. I guess its only interest is in terms of "Chapman held this item" but then again if one is into that kind of thing, in Hastings one can walk on the very floorboards he walked upon, down the stairs to the cellar, and through the front doors of his shop, and of the houses in which he lived.

By curious coincidence, a Polish cafe has opened near to his old shop!

Helena

[HelenaWojtczak]

PS Welles also mentions "a case of razors" at 11mins 45secs and a policeman mentions "a case of razors" again at 17:54. So I suppose the story is that they only kept one for the museum, then Welles forgot that later.

[Nemo]

Thanks Helena

Did you also come across in your research the book by James Berry the executioner that was in Chapman's possession at the time of his arrest?

IIRC James Berry wanted all the copies of his book destroyed and was particularly keen for his book to not be connected with the murderer George Chapman

I don't remember where I read that - probably in Stewart Evan's book about Berry which I'll check shortly

[Nemo]

I see it was mentioned in The Bloody Versicles of Crime by Jonathon Goodman who says that HL Adams mentioned it so you probably already knew that - lol

Some articles from famous crimes have found their way into wax museums

I wonder if some missing articles were purchased by Madame Tussauds or something

I can't remember in what pose Chapman's waxwork was displayed

I have a vague recollection of him being posed in the dock in court

[spyglass]

Hi all,
Reading this post has just reminded me of an article I Read in the London Standard a few weeks back that completly slipped my mind.
The Met police are going to exhibit the contents of the museum to the public so as to make some money...does anyone know anymore on this ?