Today’s Considerably Large Yet Truly Morbid Fact!
Some 19th century surgeons customized their knives to suit their preferred techniques. Pioneering surgeon Robert Liston—who was said to carry his scalpels up his coat sleeve to keep them warm—designed his very own amputation knife, which was considerably larger than the norm, with a blade fourteen inches long and one and a quarter inches wide. The dagger’s point, the last two inches of which were razor-sharp, was created to cut through the skin, thick muscles, tendons, and tissues of the thigh with a single slice. It is little wonder that for Jack the Ripper, the “Liston knife” was the weapon of choice for the gutting of victims during his killing spree in 1888.
Civil War surgeon using a Liston knife
Culled from: The Butchering Art
Crime Scene Du Jour!
Luc Sante’s Evidence is a compelling collection of crime scene photographs taken by the New York City Police Department between 1914 and 1918. The images are always intriguing, often mysterious, sometimes artistic, occasionally shocking, and reliably graphic. The appendix contains a detailed explanation of all known facts regarding each image (include applicable newspaper clippings) and much reasonable speculation on those images where the facts are lost to history. Here’s an example:
“Homicide Roshinsky taken Chas. Abrams #1033 518 Fourth Avenue Astoria 2/15/16.” This is another case in which, in spite of a thorough caption, the trail leads nowhere. The scene possesses an unearthly stillness that is immediately belied by the victim’s right hand, which might be bloody or burned, and by the disarranged furniture. This latter aspect is puzzling: the small table is tipped over far from the body, and although both it and the mirror chest (which is on casters) are obviously out of their accustomed positions, there is no indication of where those two pieces might go. The chest could fit only in some part of the room behind the photographer, and it could not have been wheeled past the recumbent Ms. Roshinsky. These might, therefore, be signs of a struggle. If it were not for these details, and the presence of the word “homicide” in the caption, one might be inclined to guess that the case was one of electrocution. There are headphones next to the body, and what might be a telegraph set just beyond it, along with an unnamable piece of equipment stuck beneath the small table along with what might be a carpet sweeper. What telegraph equipment might have been doing in a private apartment is anybody’s guess. The place is well furnished, but evidently miniscule, although the bed appears to have been rolled forward. In its normal position there might be sufficient room to open the davenport.
The equipment could possibly be amateur radio, but headphones could also be used at the time for telephones. There doesn’t seem to be a good enough image of the other equipment (apart from the possibly Bissell floor sweeper) to really identify what any of it is – at least without a really good knowledge of vintage electronics.
The location of Ms. Roshinsky is actually in Queens as the caption mentions
Astoria, Queens. After a bit of sleuthing through my own collection of fire insurance maps, I discovered 518 Fourth Avenue is now 32-53 33rd Street, Astoria, Queens. The house she was murdered in still stands but the reason for the differing addresses is because Queens renamed their streets and renumbered the addresses in the 1920s. Instead of three digits, it was renumbered into four digits.
I’ll try to find more information on Ms. Roshinsky if any is found.
Correction: After three months of researching this case, I’ve found out more about Ms Roshinsky (real name Mary Rosinsky or Rasinska). She was the 24-year old house keeper to the Abrams family at 518 Fourth Avenue (32-49 33rd Street, Astoria, NY), she was of Polish descent and was barely living in the U.S. for more than a year. The Abrams were a middle class German-American family who dealt with dairy products and grocery goods, the head of the family was Charles (Chas) Abrams. The actual date of her death was December 15th, 1915, I don’t know why the photographs have February, 1916, however, her will and probate was listed around this time. The cause of death, or the case behind the homicide, is still unknown, but it is likely that Charles Abrams was a suspect. The Abrams remained living in Queens well into the 1960s, Charles would pass away sometime after 1951.