Picture No | 10505206 |
Date | c. 1790 |
Description | Renwick Williams: suggested protection from the monster |
Details |
Renwick Williams, commonly called 'The Monster', assaulted and killed up to 60 women in the streets before his arrest in June 1790. Here a man rivetting a copper plates to make a 'skirt' for the woman to protect her from potential stab wounds. Whether or not this 'actually' occured is unknown - at the time, wooden ships had copper nailed to their undersides to protect from damage from barnacles. The term 'copper-bottomed' was used (and then more generally to denote quality). So this period illustration also acts as a rather neat visual pun!
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Source | Ashton in Old Times |
Credit | Mary Evans Picture Library |
Restrictions |
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