Dr Hunter S. Thompson's horrible letter opener: A study in object identity, adaptation and prop selection.

This article examines the evolving identity and representation of the hunting knife featured in Hunter S. Thompson's *Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas* across multiple media, including original audio tapes, written texts, plays, unproduced screenplays, the 1998 film, and a graphic novel. It highlights the challenges of translating the knife’s narrative menace—originally described as a Gerber Mini-Magnum, a small but functionally powerful hunting knife—into visual forms that often substituted larger, more visually imposing weapons to convey its emotional impact. The study proposes an "object study" approach to trace how the knife’s identity shifts through various adaptations, addressing the tension between form and function, symbolic meaning, and audience expectations in prop design. Ultimately, the article underscores the complexities of adapting literary objects into physical props that must embody both practical and symbolic significance within performance media.