In “Dodger” by Terry Pratchett: Why does Dodger scratch “Kaspar” in the carriage of the embassy before setting everything on fire? There is no character I know with that name and if he just randomly picks a German(?) name, why should it remind anyone of him then?
I’m not sure, but from a web search this may have some bearing: “Kaspar Hauser of Nuremberg, Germany”.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaspar_Hauser
Just conjecture, as I can find no other references that make sense.
No, it’s Kasper – the German version of Mr Punch. See TrenchcoatFullOfBats’s comment for explanation.