Collection of Photographs relating to Rex v. Ruxton 1935

Reference and contact details: GB 0237 E91.13
Title: Collection of Photographs relating to Rex v. Ruxton 1935
Dates of creation: 1935-1936
Held at: Edinburgh University Library, Special Collections Division
Extent: 1 envelope folder containing circa 43 photographs and miscellaneous tracing paper sketches. Access to records in a fragile condition may be restricted.
Name of Creator: Brash, James Couper
Level of Description: fonds
Language of Material: eng

Administrative/Biographical History

In 1935, Dr. Buck Ruxton of Dalton Square in Lancaster, England, murdered his wife Isabella and their house-maid Mary Jane Rogerson, cut up their bodies and deposited them in the River Nith, south-west Scotland. When the bodies were found at the 'Devil's Beeftub', near Moffat, they were in an advanced state of decomposition. The great John Glaister Jnr. (1892-1971) Professor of Forensic Medicine at Glasgow University and James Couper Brash (1886-1958) Professor of Anatomy at Edinburgh University were responsible for developing advanced identification techniques using x-rays, bone reconstruction and photographs to prove the victims' identities. The two Professors gave the leading evidence for the prosecution and ultimately Dr. Ruxton was hanged for the crimes at Manchester on 12 May 1936. A petition asking for clemency for him was signed by 10,000 people. The case still stands as a milestone in Forensic Medicine.

Scope and Content

The collection is composed of circa 43 black and white photographs, many of them duplicated, of severed limbs and bones, the bodies in decomposition, skull and cranial features, foot casts, shoes and other personal effects. There are tracing paper sketches of skull dimensions, feet, and bone cross-sections.

Administrative Information

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Material acquired from Mrs. Brash, daughter-in-law of late Professor Brash, and via the Development Office, Old College, 1991, Accession no. E91.13.

Accruals

Check the local Indexes for details of any additions.

Access Conditions

Generally open for consultation to bona fide researchers, but please contact repository for details in advance.

Note

When Glaister and Brash published their work in 1939, they were jointly awarded the Swiney Prize (Guineas 100) from which they purchased a Silver Rose Bowl. The Bowl was bequeathed to Brash's wife and thereafter to Edinburgh University. It was handed to the University in 1990 for display in the Inner Hall of the Old College, Edinburgh University.

The biographical/administrative history was compiled using material contained within the collection.

Further Information

Finding Aids

Important finding aids generally are: the alphabetical Index to Manuscripts held at Edinburgh University Library, Special Collections and Archives, consisting of typed slips in sheaf binders and to which additions were made until 1987; and the Index to Accessions Since 1987.