From Jack The Ripper to the Acid Bath Murderer to last woman executed in the UK – chilling collection of simple items recovered from some of the most notorious murders ever committed in Britain
A collection of chilling mementos of some of the most ghastly murders in British crime history have emerged for sale.
WHAT does the following pocket watch, door knocker, pill crusher and gun cartridge all have in common?
Well, they are all linked to some of the most heinous and notorious crimes ever committed in the UK.
The collection of chilling mementos from some of the country’s most deplorable killers have emerged and will go on auction on November 2.
The items come from the private museum of an elderly Devon businessman and dealer who has built up the macabre collection over his life time.
Cartridge used by Ruth Ellis – The last woman executed in the UK
Collectors have the chance of buying a cartridge case from the gun she used to kill her lover, David Blakely.
Ruth Ellis was sentenced to death for shooting her cheating boyfriend outside The Magdala in Hampstead, north London in 1955.
Ellis became notorious as the last woman to be hanged in Britain, aged 28, after she shot Mr Blakely outside the pub on Easter Sunday, that year
Her execution in Holloway Prison became a focus for campaigners and finally helped end the death penalty in Britain.
The Welsh nightclub hostess was hanged on July 13, 1955.
The cartridge has an estimated value of £600.
Serial killer John Christie’s cast iron door knocker
One of the marquee lots in the sale is the front door cast iron door knocker for 10 Rillington Place in Notting Hill, west London, which was the home of serial killer John Christie in the 1940s and early 50s.
He murdered at least eight people - including his wife - and hid the bodies under floorboards, in the garden and in a secret alcove in his kitchen.
Christie posed as a backstreet abortionist to lure the victims into his home, knocked them out with cooking gas, raped them and strangled them.
He was hanged at Pentonville Prison in London on July 15, 1953.
In an attempt to erase him from history, the council renamed the street Ruston Close and bulldozed the home, so this door knocker is the only memento of his ghastly crimes.
It is tipped to sell for £1,200
Murderer Dr Crippen’s pill crusher
A vintage pill crusher used by Dr Crippen who murdered his wife Cora in 1910 will also feature in the auction.
The torso of a human body, believed to be hers was found buried under the brick floor of his basement in Holloway, north London.
Traces of the drug scopolamine were found in the torso so it is possible the pill crusher was used in the murder.
Dr Crippen was an American ear and eye medicine dispenser.
He believed in using alternative medicines to treat patients.
The item is expected to sell for £600
Acid bath murder John Haigh’s original brass door knob
John Haigh either battered his victims or shot them he would then put their bodies in sulphuric acid to destroy their corpses.
He was convicted for the murder of six people, although he claimed to have killed nine.
The door knob is set to sell for £500
Police Officer's pocket watch who discovered Jack the Ripper's fourth victim
Another item of note is the brass-cased pocket watch of police officer Edward Watkins who discovered the mutilated body of Eddowes, the fourth Ripper victim, in the south west corner of Mitre Square at 1.45am on September 30, 1888. It is valued at £1,500
Jack the Ripper is the most notorious serial killer in British history.
His true identity was never uncovered and it is believed he had 5 victims.
'They send a shiver down your spine' - the macabre collection of serial killer trinkets
JOHN Humbert from Humbert’s Auctioneers said: “The items all come from the private museum of a man in his 80s who has had a life time interest in collecting weird and wonderful items which stemmed from his father and grandfather.”
“He has decided now is the right time to sell his collection which encompasses some of the most notorious British crimes of the late 19th and 20th century.”
Mr Humbert added: “The items in the collection do send a shiver down your spine and we acknowledge that they are not everyone's cup of tea but they have already generated considerable global interest.”
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