30th Jul, 2024 10:00
Out of the Ordinary
A rare Dr Crippen signed document
dated 17th November 1910, Dr Crippen's declaration of love to his mistress Ethel Le Neve and codicil to his will, handwritten less than a week before his execution for the murder of his wife, the handwritten document, cut from a sheet of 'regulations for prisoners' paper, explains his decision to name Ethel Clara Le Neve as his sole executrix in his will dated 8th November 1910 ('...it should be known how perfectly I trust her in every way, that she has given me the only real happiness I have ever known, that I love her above all else in this life and that for nearly four years she has been united with me in heart, soul and body as my wife...'), signed 'Pentonville 17th Nov, 1910 Hawley Harvey Crippen',
19 x 8.3cm,
with a small file of interesting photocopied papers related to the document
Provenance: John Rowland Hopwood, solicitor to Ethel Clara Le Neve;
by descent to the present owner.
Dr Hawley Crippen (1862-1910), was an American homeopath, ear and eye specialist, and medicine dispenser, who was hanged in Pentonville Prison, London, for the murder of his second wife, Cora Henrietta Crippen. He was the first criminal to be captured with the aid of wireless telegraphy.
Crippen was said to be a meek and diminutive man, and rather in the shadow of his intimidating and unfaithful wife. The couple moved to London in 1897 where Crippen employed the services of a young typist, Ethel Le Neve. Crippen and Ethel began an affair and, after the police began to investigate the disappearance of Crippen's wife in 1910, the pair absconded on the SS Montrose. However, they raised the suspicions of the ship's captain who sent the authorities a message by wireless telegraph, and they were later apprehended in Montreal and returned to England.
At his trial, Crippen took every opportunity to protect Le Neve, and at her own trial which took place later, she was promptly acquitted. However, the jury took just half an hour to return a guilty verdict against Crippen, which was upheld on appeal on 5 November 1910. Three days later Crippen wrote a new will naming Ethel Le Neve as his sole executrix. This was followed, nine days later, by the present codicil in which he insisted that no-one had influenced him to name her as his executrix. He continued to write to Le Neve until the evening before his execution on 23 November.
Although more than a century has passed since the headless body of Crippen's wife was found buried in the cellar of his house, the case continues to hold a macabre fascination with the public. Although many of the details still remain shrouded in mystery - with even the identity of the body having been contested - there is no doubt that Crippen was deeply in love with Ethel Le Neve.
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Condition Report
fold creases and small pin holes to the corners - sold with a small file of intesresting photocopied papers related to the document
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Auction: Out of the Ordinary, 30th Jul, 2024
Viewing
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Friday 26 July, 10am - 4pm
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