THE FIRST JACK THE RIPPER VICTIM PHOTOGRAPHS (SIGNED)

Softcover. SIGNED, NUMBERED, LIMITED EDN. Foreword by Richard Whittington-Egan. The photographs of the victims of Jack the Ripper are one of the most important pieces of evidence left in this 126yr. old case. Crime scene photography was still in its infancy in the 19th century but the surviving photographs show a remarkable skill and are a story unto themselves. But who was the person entrusted with the gruesome task of photographing the victims? How many photographs were taken? Who had copies? And why did they disappear for so long? The author answers these questions while exploring all of the photographic aspects of the Jack the Ripper case including : The rediscovery of photographs published in France in the 19th century, and further research on the original pictures and where they may be found today. Never before published details on the man who photographed corpses for the London Metropolitan Police for almost 50 years. A reprint and English translation of Arthur MacDonald's essay on the Ripper in 'Vacher l'Eventreur et les crimes sadiques' (1899) by Alexandre Lacasssagne along with 2 victim photographs. Seven decades would pass before more victim photographs would be published again. Discussion of Andre Lamoureux, who published a photograph of Mary Kelly in 1894, 5yrs. before Lacassagne. This is the first book on the subject of Jack the Ripper to publish every known victim photograph of the greatest unsolved series of murders the world has ever seen. To quote Richard Whittington-Egan this long awaited work of Robert McLaughlin has been "Meticulously researched, written with admirable clarity and is without doubt a scholarly and very real contribution to the mounting aggregate of worthwhile Ripper studies." Profusely Illus. with 80 photographs, Sources and Notes. 157pp. trade size softcover. The first 100 copies of this book were numbered and signed by the author at the Jack the Ripper Conference, held in Brighton, England in 2005. This is No. 22/100. FLAT SIGNED BY ROBERT, plus tipped-in label SIGNED BY RICHARD WHITTINGTON-EGAN. F. with no creasing to covers. Very rare and much sought after.