Borsalino Hat of John George Haigh

This Borsalino, blackened by time and dust, belonged to John George Haigh. The man who always appeared elegant, impeccably dressed and charming, hid behind that hat a dark soul. Between 1944 and 1949, Haigh lured his victims with trust and sophistication, then dissolved them in acid, convinced that without a body, there could be no crime.  
He walked through hotel lobbies like any respectable businessman. Wool coat, flawless Borsalino, manicured hands, and a calm voice. He spoke of investments, opportunities, trust. His victims followed, hoping for profit-unaware that behind that smile lay acid. John George Haigh didn't steal with force. He stole with style. He forged signatures, invented identities, built traps out of paper and politeness. Then, when the moment was right, he vanished with their wealth. And with them. He dissolved them. Literally. Barrels of sulfuric acid, rented warehouses, no bodies to recover. "No body, no crime," he said. And for years, he was right. 
The hat was his social shield, his disguise as a gentleman. 
Today, crushed and forgotten, it is the only silent witness to a mind both lucid and lethal.
Doktor Lazarus Archaeologist, Historian, Collector, Independent Curator