Patricia Cornwell collection

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Collection Data

Description: Patricia Cornwell (1956- ) is a contemporary American crime writer. The Patricia Cornwell collection consists of correspondence, photographs, and published material concerning Jack the Ripper collected in the course of her research for her book Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper - Case Closed, as well as a sizable autograph manuscript collection.
Names: Cornwell, Patricia Daniels (Creator); Victoria, Empress, consort of Frederick III, German Emperor, 1840-1901 (Correspondent)
Dates / Origin: Date Created: 1841 - 1999
Library locations: Manuscripts and Archives Division; Shelf locator: MssCol 18365
Topics: Jack, the Ripper; Serial murders -- England -- London -- History; Whitechapel (London, England) -- History -- 19th century; Artists; Albert Victor, Prince, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, 1864-1892; Capote, Truman, 1924-1984; Sickert, Walter, 1860-1942; Terry, Ellen, Dame, 1847-1928; Whistler, James McNeill, 1834-1903
Genres: Autographs; Photographs; Postage stamps; Scrapbooks; visitors' books; Correspondence; Documents
Notes: Biographical/historical: Patricia Cornwell (1956- ) is a contemporary American crime writer. She is best known for her Scarpetta crime series. She enjoyed an early career as a journalist covering crime for the Charlotte Observer, then as a technical writer for the office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia. In 1990 she published her first Scarpetta novel, Postmortem., the first of her many successful novels. In 2002, Cornwell published Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper - Case Closed in which she put forth her theory that the British artist Walter Sickert (1860-1942) was responsible for the Ripper murders. She purchased many of the original documents used as source material for the book.; Content: The Patricia Cornwell collection consists of correspondence, photographs, and published material collected in the course of her research on the unsolved Jack the Ripper case, as well as a sizable autograph manuscript collection. Cornwell collected original letters and documents for research for her book Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper - Case Closed as well as for other research projects and for personal interest. Cornwell's Jack the Ripper collection contains letters, documents, and photographs of suspects in the Ripper case, including the Duke of Clarence, Sir William Gull, Dr. Frances Tumblety, and Walter Sickert, whom Cornwell claimed was Jack the Ripper in her book Portrait of a Killer. She also collected the materials of individuals related in some way to the case or to Sickert, such as Sickert's friends, artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler, actors Ellen Terry and Henry Irving, as well as Sir George Warren, the police chief in charge during the Ripper murders. A set of letters relating to the retrial and release of American Florence Maybrick for the murder of her husband James Maybrick, a Jack the Ripper suspect are also included, as well as true crime magazines from the late 1880s and photographs of London. There is also a small file of correspondence of Ripper researcher and criminologist Jonathan Goodman (1931-2008). These letters are neither to nor from Cornwell. Cornwell's autograph manuscript collection consists of letters and documents signed by prominent American, British and European statesmen, royalty, politicians, artists, scientists, and legal and literary figures. Items of note include a long letter from Thomas DeQuincey's daughter retelling her father's favorite ghost story and two very descriptive letters from J.M. Barrie discussing the Llewelyn Davies children. Cornwell's stamp collection (most on envelopes) can be found at the end of this series. Other notable figures represented in this collection include Truman Capote, King George V of Great Britain, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and George Bernard Shaw.; Acquisition: Gift of Patricia Cornwell, May 2010
Physical Description: Extent: 4.54 linear feet (7 boxes, 2 volumes, 1 oversized folder)
Type of Resource: Text; Still image
Identifiers: NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b18761270; MSS Unit ID: 18365; Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 1f732700-7866-0139-62de-0242ac110004