How Brown
11-11-2008, 06:59 PM
Many thanks not only to Jimmy for his time,effort,and appreciated insights...but to all of you who step up to the plate and have helped make this thread what it is.:kiss:
1. Concerning Phil Hutchinson's acquisition of the Dutfield's Yard photograph, in your view is there any aspect of that crime scene which has changed from when you first saw it as compared to now ?
It's a great find and through its supposed age (1900) gives us a pretty enlightening view of Dutfield's Yard. The contemporary sketches often seem to 'open up' the yard so it looks wider than its actual 9feet width - this was probably some artistic device - otherwise the photo is instantly recognisable from the illustrations. The photo shows how narrow it really was, which then beggars the question 'if Stride's murderer was disturbed by Diemschutz and had to hide in the yard itself until the coast was briefly clear, as some scenarios have it, then where did he hide?' A pony and cart, with Diemschutz momentarily examining the body would appear to leave little room. Therefore, that theory could be harder to accept, unless the murderer fled to the rear of the yard - an altogether more risky course of action.
I never thought that he would be hiding in the yard anyway, but on the evidence of the photo, my personal belief is that he was away just before Diemschutz arrived - he would only have needed a minute or two to be in the clear.
2. Concerning Rippercast, is there a specific program idea or even a series of programs that you would like to see developed, other than a major mini-series devoted to the mechanics and inside skinny of how I create my terrific captions...which, of course, should have been the first thing that came to your mind?
The great thing about the Rippercast is a) its diversity of subject matter within the field and b) actually hearing the opinions of those with major interests in those particular subjects. I would certainly like to see a few more established names as guests (always a draw), as well as perhaps those individuals who have highly controversial standpoints - it would be good to hear them discuss these ideas with a live panel rather than using message boards which can often be a 'shielded' way of making a point.
3. How has the project undertaken to capture as many photos of LVP sites and edifices in the East End been doing to date? Are you still participating ?
The great Casebook crash was potentially disastrous for the Photo Archive - thanks to Stephen et al, a lot was saved, but a lot also disappeared. But documenting the LVP sites goes on regardless, thankfully. People are constantly finding new images and recording change in the East End. In the last year we've had the Whitby Collection, Dutfield's Yard and George Yard Buildings and the internet often throws up oldish shots of the murder sites - it's just a lot of trial and error locating them!
Archive photographs of the murder sites don't often create new possibilities which affect our thinking on the JTR case as they're usually not old enough to show how somewhere looked in 1888 (Dutfield's Yard notwithstanding). Photographs of other sites (many now gone) serve to flesh out our view of the East End over the last 100 years, which is a great thing. It would be wonderful to find photographs of Thrawl and Flower and Dean Streets in the 1880s before the model dwellings went up.
4. Where, if any, do you see more emphasis being placed in Ripperology over the last calendar year? On suspects? On aspects? Evidence or new speculations? Please elaborate if you wish......
Tough one. There have been some nice people-based photographic scoops this year - Tumblety and Lawende springs to mind - and there seems to be an increasing trickle of new information being brought into the arena, often from newspapers. Also official documents are regularly being released; the latest Broadmoor files on James Kelly and Cutbush should also throw new light on these particular suspects and as more documents become available, I reckon we will acquire further information about the people involved in the Ripper case. I'm not really a suspects person, but I have a gut feeling that invaluable material re: Kosminski is on its way. Rob House has been recognised as doing sterling stuff in this area, so I think it's a case of 'watch this space' with that one...
The other thing I've noticed recently is an increased willingness to debunk old preconceptions or question the status quo of Ripperology. This is not a bad thing, though occasionally, it seems to be for the sake of it in the face of overwhelming logic.
5. Any plans for a second book in the future for John Bennett?
Oh, now you're asking. I've always got a few irons in the fire. I've already started research for a possible book of walks around London (a la Iain Sinclair), using different, often unusual criteria, to create routes. Another one is a sequel to 'E1' called -wait for it - 'E2', about Bethnal Green, though I'm more excited about writing something about Hoxton and Shoreditch in a similar vein - it is a historically rich area with a fate that reads like that of Spitalfields at times, plus my father and his family are from there, so I have a wealth of people-stories at my fingertips.
Failing that, I would just LOVE to write a biography of The Kinks, concentrating on the years 1965-71 when their music was both prolific and loaded with 'Englishness':
"We are the skyscraper condemnation affiliates,
God save Tudor houses, antique tables and billiards!"
(Village Green Preservation Society)
Yeah, that's be a nice project....
1. Concerning Phil Hutchinson's acquisition of the Dutfield's Yard photograph, in your view is there any aspect of that crime scene which has changed from when you first saw it as compared to now ?
It's a great find and through its supposed age (1900) gives us a pretty enlightening view of Dutfield's Yard. The contemporary sketches often seem to 'open up' the yard so it looks wider than its actual 9feet width - this was probably some artistic device - otherwise the photo is instantly recognisable from the illustrations. The photo shows how narrow it really was, which then beggars the question 'if Stride's murderer was disturbed by Diemschutz and had to hide in the yard itself until the coast was briefly clear, as some scenarios have it, then where did he hide?' A pony and cart, with Diemschutz momentarily examining the body would appear to leave little room. Therefore, that theory could be harder to accept, unless the murderer fled to the rear of the yard - an altogether more risky course of action.
I never thought that he would be hiding in the yard anyway, but on the evidence of the photo, my personal belief is that he was away just before Diemschutz arrived - he would only have needed a minute or two to be in the clear.
2. Concerning Rippercast, is there a specific program idea or even a series of programs that you would like to see developed, other than a major mini-series devoted to the mechanics and inside skinny of how I create my terrific captions...which, of course, should have been the first thing that came to your mind?
The great thing about the Rippercast is a) its diversity of subject matter within the field and b) actually hearing the opinions of those with major interests in those particular subjects. I would certainly like to see a few more established names as guests (always a draw), as well as perhaps those individuals who have highly controversial standpoints - it would be good to hear them discuss these ideas with a live panel rather than using message boards which can often be a 'shielded' way of making a point.
3. How has the project undertaken to capture as many photos of LVP sites and edifices in the East End been doing to date? Are you still participating ?
The great Casebook crash was potentially disastrous for the Photo Archive - thanks to Stephen et al, a lot was saved, but a lot also disappeared. But documenting the LVP sites goes on regardless, thankfully. People are constantly finding new images and recording change in the East End. In the last year we've had the Whitby Collection, Dutfield's Yard and George Yard Buildings and the internet often throws up oldish shots of the murder sites - it's just a lot of trial and error locating them!
Archive photographs of the murder sites don't often create new possibilities which affect our thinking on the JTR case as they're usually not old enough to show how somewhere looked in 1888 (Dutfield's Yard notwithstanding). Photographs of other sites (many now gone) serve to flesh out our view of the East End over the last 100 years, which is a great thing. It would be wonderful to find photographs of Thrawl and Flower and Dean Streets in the 1880s before the model dwellings went up.
4. Where, if any, do you see more emphasis being placed in Ripperology over the last calendar year? On suspects? On aspects? Evidence or new speculations? Please elaborate if you wish......
Tough one. There have been some nice people-based photographic scoops this year - Tumblety and Lawende springs to mind - and there seems to be an increasing trickle of new information being brought into the arena, often from newspapers. Also official documents are regularly being released; the latest Broadmoor files on James Kelly and Cutbush should also throw new light on these particular suspects and as more documents become available, I reckon we will acquire further information about the people involved in the Ripper case. I'm not really a suspects person, but I have a gut feeling that invaluable material re: Kosminski is on its way. Rob House has been recognised as doing sterling stuff in this area, so I think it's a case of 'watch this space' with that one...
The other thing I've noticed recently is an increased willingness to debunk old preconceptions or question the status quo of Ripperology. This is not a bad thing, though occasionally, it seems to be for the sake of it in the face of overwhelming logic.
5. Any plans for a second book in the future for John Bennett?
Oh, now you're asking. I've always got a few irons in the fire. I've already started research for a possible book of walks around London (a la Iain Sinclair), using different, often unusual criteria, to create routes. Another one is a sequel to 'E1' called -wait for it - 'E2', about Bethnal Green, though I'm more excited about writing something about Hoxton and Shoreditch in a similar vein - it is a historically rich area with a fate that reads like that of Spitalfields at times, plus my father and his family are from there, so I have a wealth of people-stories at my fingertips.
Failing that, I would just LOVE to write a biography of The Kinks, concentrating on the years 1965-71 when their music was both prolific and loaded with 'Englishness':
"We are the skyscraper condemnation affiliates,
God save Tudor houses, antique tables and billiards!"
(Village Green Preservation Society)
Yeah, that's be a nice project....