The Proper Red Stuff In A Ginger Beer Bottle

[Madam Red]

"I saved some of the proper red stuff in a ginger beer bottle over the last job to write with but it went thick like glue and I cant use it. Red ink is fit enough I hope ha. ha."

I had always thought that the "Dear Boss" letter was a hoax, but recently this line has caught my attention.

If the letter is a hoax, why on earth would the writer know that penning with blood is so difficult? And, if he wasn't just trying to rouse the reader but telling the truth, why did he have blood in his possession?

He described the traits accurately: blood drops won't stay as liquid for long, they have the tendency to stick together and turned into a jelly-like substance. I guess this is because of blood's clotting ability that our bodies rely on so much.

It's hard to use as ink, you can't simply dip the pen in it and expect to draw a complete word. You would either have to funnel it into the pen's internal reservoir (where the ink is stored), but risk the chance of it clotting and drying up inside, or use a paint brush, which might give you the best result.

Unless I'm entirely mistaken, this wasn't common knowledge back in the day. While there are countless mentions of "written with blood" in stories, I doubt that many people have actually tried it.

I only found this information out because one night I had a bloody nose (I get them a lot during the change of seasons) and took the oppurtunity to try to recreate this letter, wondering if using blood would be as hard as the author had said. I failed miserably.

There are plenty of ways to get blood without killing someone, whether it's his blood or someone else's. The author might've been injured or gotten a nosebleed, or had been a doctor or a butcher who obviously had that kind of access. The possibilities are endless.

I'm really curious as to what you guys think about this.

[Adam Went]

Hey Madam Red,

Interesting thoughts, but to be honest I don't think he needed to be Einstein to work out that blood will clot and dry up very quickly if not preserved in the right way. Especially if it had been sitting around for 3 weeks before he actually wrote the letter....

"From Hell" is the best shot at a genuine Ripper letter, in my view.

Cheers,
Adam.

[Madam Red]

Hey Madam Red,

Interesting thoughts, but to be honest I don't think he needed to be Einstein to work out that blood will clot and dry up very quickly if not preserved in the right way. Especially if it had been sitting around for 3 weeks before he actually wrote the letter....

"From Hell" is the best shot at a genuine Ripper letter, in my view.

Cheers,
Adam.

You make a good point.
And I agree with you about the "From Hell Letter."

[The Snapper]

And I thought you were going to be referring to the ginger beer bottles at Millers Court ...
Even though this letter has lost some of it's credibility over the years I can imagine a detective ordering a constable to "check those bottles".

[corey123]

Hello Red,

I would say it is a well known fact that blood does indeed clot and that line is just another of the writers, whoever he may be, jokes.

If your interested in this line I started a thread a while ago about it. Though it isn't in quite the same direction as your but its worth a look.

Yours truly,

Corey

[Madam Red]

Sure thing, Corey.

[richardnunweek]

Hi,
The very fact that the writer of this letter refers to a ginger beer bottle is intresting enough, someone in room 13 obviously had a taste for such a beverage.
Was the term 'Ginger' [ kellys nickname] a reference to her liking it, rather then her hair colouring?
Of all the bottles the writer could have used, could it be, that it was the one most foremost in his/her mind at the time of writing, and if written in Room 13 possibly just feet away from them in a cupboard.
But that would implicate one of the internal triangle , Barnett/Mjk/Fleming...
Surely not Kelly??
Regards Richard.

[Abby Normal]

Hi,
The very fact that the writer of this letter refers to a ginger beer bottle is intresting enough, someone in room 13 obviously had a taste for such a beverage.
Was the term 'Ginger' [ kellys nickname] a reference to her liking it, rather then her hair colouring?
Of all the bottles the writer could have used, could it be, that it was the one most foremost in his/her mind at the time of writing, and if written in Room 13 possibly just feet away from them in a cupboard.
But that would implicate one of the internal triangle , Barnett/Mjk/Fleming...
Surely not Kelly??
Regards Richard.

Hi Richard
Could it also possibly implicate GH? he said he knew her for several years and obviously knew where she lived. He could have been in her room also?

[Jane Coram]

Hi,

Sorry, I'm going to be a real miserable sod here.

Best guess is that if someone is nutty enough to want to write a letter like that, then he's nutty enough to want to write it in blood for added effect irrespective of whether or not he was Jack. It wasn't exactly a problem getting blood in those days, you just had to buy a chicken for dinner and slit it's throat. If he was that nutty it could have been a rat or cat, it would really not difficult to get hold of blood. He found out once he started that blood isn't really that great for writing sicko letters.

So really I don't think you can tell anything from that comment.

Hugs

Janie

xxxxx

[Sally]

Ginger Beer

Ginger Beer was (is) pretty ubiquitous stuff. I'd be tempted to see this as a coincidence - nothing more.

Best regards

Sally

[Robert]

Well, unless we're looking for a "Five Go Wild In Whitechapel" scenario.....

[Tecs]

I thought it was pretty much accepted now that the writer was Tom Bulling working with Charles Moore?

Several people including police officers make reference to him writing the letter and as a journalist, he would know to send it to central news in order to get maximum exposure.

Regards,

[Sally]

Well, unless we're looking for a "Five Go Wild In Whitechapel" scenario.....

Hi Robert - that's hilarious!!

Hi Tecs - yes, this is my understanding of the situation. But even if that turned out not to be the case, I honestly can't see the presence of a ginger beer bottle in Kelly's room being indicative of anything suspicious.

Best regards, both

Sally

[sleekviper]

Actually, storing blood in ginger beer bottles may have worked. The problem was, the concentration was much lower in England after 1855, so what would have worked elsewhere, would not have worked there. Ginger is high in salicylates, a natural blood thinner, so if he had tried it before, and it worked, it may have been from somewhere other than England with a higher concentration. Still could have been a lucky guess, but it is not without logic.

[Tecs]

Actually, storing blood in ginger beer bottles may have worked. The problem was, the concentration was much lower in England after 1855, so what would have worked elsewhere, would not have worked there. Ginger is high in salicylates, a natural blood thinner, so if he had tried it before, and it worked, it may have been from somewhere other than England with a higher concentration. Still could have been a lucky guess, but it is not without logic.

Wasn't it Ginger beer in the famous legal case (I think off the top of my head it was Stephenson vs Donohue) that redefined contract law?

Viper, you are spot on. I did a project on salicylic acid at university. They are a natural blood thinner so a layman may very well use it in this way. Good spot!

And thanks Sally as well, nice to hear from you.

Regards,