Letter found near Selhurst Railway Station

[etenguy]

Of all the communications received purporting to be from JtR, the Dear Boss letter is one that has some credibility. Though the police at the time seem to think this letter was likely written by Tom Bulling - a journalist.

While I was aware of the letter dated 6 October seemingly threatening a witness (and a transcript of that letter appears on the casebook site under ripper letters) I had not until recently seen a copy of that letter.

Having now seen a copy of that letter, the striking similarities of handwriting with the writing of the Dear Boss letter makes it difficult to believe they were not written by the same person. The 'jack the ripper' sign off is almost identical.

If these were written by the same person, does that strengthen or weaken the suggestion that it was a journalist who wrote the Dear Boss letter? To my mind I think it makes it less likely that Dear Boss was a journalist hoax.

[Lewis C]

I see that on the Casebook page that shows the text of the Oct. 6th letter, a note right above the transcription of the letter says, "Few researchers believe this letter to be real." If that's the case, anything else written by the same hand wouldn't be real, though even if not written by the killer, it could be some other kind of hoax rather than a journalistic one.

[Wickerman]

The following is a copy of a post I made some years ago, there used to be a video on Youtube about this but it has long since been taken down.


Kelvin McKenzie, a former tabloid editor was researching into the role the Star newspaper played in publishing stories of the Whitechapel Murders, and their lack of regard for the truth.

McKenzie meets up with Andrew Cook who was also conducting research into the Star newspaper when he found a shareholders letter which contained a very important sentence concerning certain dubious activities of one of their journalists - Frederick Best.

The letter, written by the senior shareholder reads, in part:

"I have submitted on a number of occasions that Mr. O'Connor's former use of compatriots such as Messrs Best and O'Brien have not only been responsible for several potential legal actions against the Star, but in the unfortunate case of Mr. Parke, a somewhat more serious consequence in January last.

Furthermore, Mr. Best's attempt to mislead Central News during the Whitechapel Murders should have led to an earlier termination of his association with the newspaper."

This letter appears to refer to the writing of the Dear Boss letter, that was sent to mislead Central News. An agency which provides newspaper stories by wire across the country, and is on what might be described as 'intimate' terms with Scotland Yard.

What is more, Cook managed to locate an actual letter written by Best from his estate and had it taken to a graphologist to compare with the Dear Boss letter.
The conclusion from the graphologist was "as sure as she can be that Frederick Best wrote the Dear Boss letter."

[etenguy]

I see that on the Casebook page that shows the text of the Oct. 6th letter, a note right above the transcription of the letter says, "Few researchers believe this letter to be real." If that's the case, anything else written by the same hand wouldn't be real, though even if not written by the killer, it could be some other kind of hoax rather than a journalistic one.

Hi Lewis C

You can find a copy of the letter at the link below - I'd be interested in whether you find the handwriting so similar.

https://wiki.casebook.org/6_october_letter.html

While this does not necessarily mean that the murderer wrote one or both letters - it does mean that the dismissal of the Dear Boss letter as a journalists hoax probably warrants further consideration, at least in my view.

[etenguy]

The following is a copy of a post I made some years ago, there used to be a video on Youtube about this but it has long since been taken down.


Kelvin McKenzie, a former tabloid editor was researching into the role the Star newspaper played in publishing stories of the Whitechapel Murders, and their lack of regard for the truth.

McKenzie meets up with Andrew Cook who was also conducting research into the Star newspaper when he found a shareholders letter which contained a very important sentence concerning certain dubious activities of one of their journalists - Frederick Best.

The letter, written by the senior shareholder reads, in part:

"I have submitted on a number of occasions that Mr. O'Connor's former use of compatriots such as Messrs Best and O'Brien have not only been responsible for several potential legal actions against the Star, but in the unfortunate case of Mr. Parke, a somewhat more serious consequence in January last.

Furthermore, Mr. Best's attempt to mislead Central News during the Whitechapel Murders should have led to an earlier termination of his association with the newspaper."

This letter appears to refer to the writing of the Dear Boss letter, that was sent to mislead Central News. An agency which provides newspaper stories by wire across the country, and is on what might be described as 'intimate' terms with Scotland Yard.

What is more, Cook managed to locate an actual letter written by Best from his estate and had it taken to a graphologist to compare with the Dear Boss letter.
The conclusion from the graphologist was "as sure as she can be that Frederick Best wrote the Dear Boss letter."

Thank you Wickerman

I have seen Fred Best put in the frame for the Dear Boss letter before - could well be right, but the article extract in the above post is not very specific and might refer to other behaviours or letters. The reference to other news stories is quite interesting - I feel I might want to find out about the Mr Parke affair (but not for here).

[Lewis C]

Hi Lewis C

You can find a copy of the letter at the link below - I'd be interested in whether you find the handwriting so similar.

https://wiki.casebook.org/6_october_letter.html

While this does not necessarily mean that the murderer wrote one or both letters - it does mean that the dismissal of the Dear Boss letter as a journalists hoax probably warrants further consideration, at least in my view.

I do see some similarities, but also some differences. In Dear Boss the spaces at the end of sentences are bigger, and every lower case i is dotted, where in the Oct 6 letter only about half are dotted. In Dear Boss the crosses of the t's are to the right of the vertical line of the t, where in Oct. 6, they're more well-centered. The Dear Boss letter is neater, with lines that are more level. The Oct 6 letter brings the tails at the ends of words higher than in the Dear Boss letter.

[etenguy]

I do see some similarities, but also some differences. In Dear Boss the spaces at the end of sentences are bigger, and every lower case i is dotted, where in the Oct 6 letter only about half are dotted. In Dear Boss the crosses of the t's are to the right of the vertical line of the t, where in Oct. 6, they're more well-centered. The Dear Boss letter is neater, with lines that are more level. The Oct 6 letter brings the tails at the ends of words higher than in the Dear Boss letter.

Thanks for that Lewis C - take your point - it was the jack the ripper sign off that reaally caught my attention.

[Lewis C]

Thanks for that Lewis C - take your point - it was the jack the ripper sign off that reaally caught my attention.

[Paul Sutton]

The 'Dear Boss' letter is a delight, which points to some writer having crafted it, I'd say.

If one compares with a pale imitation - say the Wearside Jack communications (done by a jerk alcoholic) - the difference is glaring. There's almost an innocent playfulness in Dear Boss. It fits with Francis Thompson, for one. Yes - a stretch!

Also notable for me is where it was sent - a news agency. I think it's been much-remarked how this implies someone with insider knowledge of the newspaper business. In contrast, the infamous Zodiac letters (many genuinely from Zodiac) were sent to San Francisco papers.

[Scott Nelson]

I'm surprised few have considered Harry Dam as the author of the Dear Boss letter.