Dear Boss

[mariab]

I wonder when I'll be able to finally read Sugden, The Ultimate, JTR - Letters from Hell, and SC investigates plus tons of related threads, so as to stop being considered a newbie. If things keep going as crazy as this professionally, I won't be able to engage in my “reading list“ before December, possibly even not before the Xmas holidays. But if the French start striking and demonstrating like crazy again, as they just announced in the news today, I might need to change my planning, resulting in more free time for Ripperology. Leave it on da French to decide...

[Abby Normal]

I wonder when I'll be able to finally read Sugden, The Ultimate, JTR - Letters from Hell, and SC investigates plus tons of related threads, so as to stop being considered a newbie. If things keep going as crazy as this professionally, I won't be able to engage in my “reading list“ before December, possibly even not before the Xmas holidays. But if the French start striking and demonstrating like crazy again, as they just announced in the news today, I might need to change my planning, resulting in more free time for Ripperology. Leave it on da French to decide...

Hi maria
I Am reading Letters from Hell now- just got from Amazon. Get it-very fascinating. After perusing the many received letters-IMHO the Dear Boss, from Hell and 1896 letter(last one received) have an air of authenticity for me.

[mariab]

Hello Abby,
I've just received JTR – Letters from Hell and Scotland Yard investigates from amazon.uk too, but there's NO way that I'll be able to read it before several weeks. At any rate, Sugden and The Ultimate will come first, as they're older publications (and Sugden contains inaccuracies pertaining to Kozminsky and Stride). As it happens, my entire (non electronic) lit on Ripperology (consisting of just the 4 aforementioned books, plus Paley and a couple Ripper Notes) is stuck at the foot of a cupboard by my bed, awaiting to be read to completion (as the living room/office is already more or less chock full of stacks of books and materials pertaining to articles and book that await completion too). Sometimes I wonder if it's mentally healthy that I sleep like a baby with all these postmortem photos practically at the foot of my bed...
As for the From Hell letter, it might have been a hoax or (perhaps) authentic. I'm looking forward to absorbing more information pertaining to it.

[Abby Normal]

Hello Abby,
I've just received JTR – Letters from Hell and Scotland Yard investigates from amazon.uk too, but there's NO way that I'll be able to read it before several weeks. At any rate, Sugden and The Ultimate will come first, as they're older publications (and Sugden contains inaccuracies pertaining to Kozminsky and Stride). As it happens, my entire (non electronic) lit on Ripperology (consisting of just the 4 aforementioned books, plus Paley and a couple Ripper Notes) is stuck at the foot of a cupboard by my bed, awaiting to be read to completion (as the living room/office is already more or less chock full of stacks of books and materials pertaining to articles and book that await completion too). Sometimes I wonder if it's mentally healthy that I sleep like a baby with all these postmortem photos practically at the foot of my bed...
As for the From Hell letter, it might have been a hoax or (perhaps) authentic. I'm looking forward to absorbing more information pertaining to it.

Hi Maria
The 1896 letter is a pretty fascinating item, as the police actually took the time to compare it to the orginal Dear Boss letter because of the similarities.

What are the inaccuracies in Sugden (I own/read it) concerning kozminsky and Stride? I was not aware of this.

[Tom_Wescott]

the Dear Boss, from Hell and 1896 letter(last one received) have an air of authenticity for me.

Hi Abby. The consensus at the time (and now) regarding the 1896 letter is that it was written by a different hand than 'Dear Boss', and of course, 'From Hell' is certainly by a different hand.

Regarding Sugden and Kosminsky, John Malcolm published a rather biting but nevertheless spot on article in the third issue of Casebook Examiner detailing the numerous inaccuracies and leaps of logic made by Sugden regarding Anderson and Kosminsky. As for Stride, not a single author to date has been able to give us an accurate write-up on the Stride murder, but Sugden's is certainly one of the better ones.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[mariab]

Abby Normal wrote:
What are the inaccuracies in Sugden (I own/read it) concerning kozminsky and Stride? I was not aware of this.
As he said.

[Stewart P Evans]

1996

Huh? That's not what you said. You said, 'How can anyone have 'no trouble' accepting Le Grand as Stride's killer?' That's quite a different statement. You're saying that no one would believe Le Grand is Stride's killer, and it IS recorded fact that people HAVE believed him to be so. As for the rest of your post, it was way off the mark.
You were on the Casebook back in 1997? I thought you didn't get involved with the boards for some years after.
Yours truly,
Tom Wescott

I was on the old boards back in 1996 and still have printouts to prove it. I thought Caz first posted in 1998.

[Tom_Wescott]

LOL. Why would you think you'd have to prove it? I'm not Paul Begg, you know. You sure Caz didn't start in 1997?

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Abby Normal]

Hi Abby. The consensus at the time (and now) regarding the 1896 letter is that it was written by a different hand than 'Dear Boss', and of course, 'From Hell' is certainly by a different hand.

Regarding Sugden and Kosminsky, John Malcolm published a rather biting but nevertheless spot on article in the third issue of Casebook Examiner detailing the numerous inaccuracies and leaps of logic made by Sugden regarding Anderson and Kosminsky. As for Stride, not a single author to date has been able to give us an accurate write-up on the Stride murder, but Sugden's is certainly one of the better ones.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

Thank you, Tom

[caz]

You're saying that no one would believe Le Grand is Stride's killer...

Am I? Then you know what I'm saying better than I do, Tom. So maybe you should just write my words for me. Oh wait, that's what you did.

What you said originally was that nobody should have any trouble accepting Le Grand as Stride's killer. Obviously you are having no such trouble, but you don't get to speak for me or anyone else and I don't see 'em lining up to agree with you that this murder has been solved. You have yet to show from the historical record why it's a done deal and therefore why we should all have no trouble accepting your solution, whether we believe this was a ripper murder or not.

By the way, Stewart is right. My first Casebook post was not until late December 1998, but I can see why it would seem longer to you.

Love,

Caz
X

[YankeeSergeant]

Journalism in 1888

Hi Simon

Where's the journalistic integrity in perpetrating a hoax?

Exactly-great point!!


BTW-I have aquestion for you on the "modern day BS man..." thread.

A splendid point to my mind! I'm not terribly familiar with British journalistic practices of the time but herer in the states, news was determined by what would sell papers. Ten years later journalist and publisher William Randolph Hearst boasted that he "would provide the war if his reporters supplied the story" referring to Spanish "Attrocities" in Cuba Stories were more akion to the stuff put out in scandal sheets than actual news. Again, I'm not accusing the British papers or the CNA of yellow journalism but I am saying the possibility of it and the fact that there was no code of ethics for journalists in those days and journalitic integrity didn't really play into the situation. in my humble opinion,

[lynn cates]

margin-alia

Hello All. Whoever wrote the "Dear Boss" it seems not to be Moore. If you look closely at it, the margin moves slightly left as you go down page. Now if you compare that to the sample of Moore's writing graciously provided by Mr. Stewart Evans on the CNA thread, you'll notice Moore's left margin shifting a good deal to the right.

Individual letters (like y etc) can be made to look like someone else's; but, slope, slant and margin are much more difficult, not to say overlooked.

Do we have a sample of Hurlburt's hand writing?

Cheers.
LC

[TradeName]

There are some letters from WH Hurlbert in the Whistler collection at the University of Glascow, but I haven't seen any of them.

http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/manuscripts/search/resultsn.cfm?NID=8976&RID=&Y1=&Y2=

[Tom_Wescott]

Hi Lynn,

Dear boss was written slowly and deliberately, so you're not going to expect a flow. The hurridly written post script, however, likely represents the author's true handwriting, as does Saucy jack, which matchs the handwriting of th post script. Any handwriting comparison must be made wtih the post script or post card.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[lynn cates]

thanks

Hello Trade. Thank you. That is very helpful.

Cheers.
LC