The `Reverand Dott letter to Australia

[seecomber]

The publication in the Daily Mail Saturday,28/12/2019 of a letter written to either relatives or missionary workers in Australia in July 1889 by the Reverand W P Dott does not seem to have aroused any interest on the Casebook even though it further strengthens the candicy of Kosminski as the perpertrator. It seems that even if senior police officers had no idea of the killer`s identity the writer was in no doubt of the culprit!

[JeffHamm]

Here's a link to the story:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7831203/Is-final-proof-Jack-Ripper-Polish-barber.html

- Jeff

[jmenges]

Until more is known of its provenance, the veracity of its contents (like the real existence of the individuals mentioned in it), and the experts the winning bidder claims to have consulted... IMO it should be treated with large dose of healthy skepticism.

While this letter may have been totally ignored on Casebook, it has been researched and discussed over on JtR Forums ever since it first appeared on eBay.

JM

[Al Bundy's Eyes]

Hi Seecomber,

Yeah, stuff like this is the holy grail of the Ripperologist. I think we all harbour the belief that somewhere out there is a long forgotten document with new, vital evidence, waiting to be discovered. This might be it, but even removing the whole case for its its authenticity and provenance, it leaves the fact that the Rev'd Dott might just be plain wrong, retelling a story that's just that, a story, gossip from the time. How many people at that time and place "knew" who the killer was? Most of the East End had their opinions.
Personally, I'm wary of anything that makes its first appearance on eBay. And, why have these "tests" been done in secret? Surely, as a self proclaimed Ripperologist, transparency would be paramount?
As it stands, it's interesting, and may very well be genuine, but it doesn't really shed any knew light or change any perceptions, it's an addition to the overall picture of how the killings were perceived in daily life.
And as for dating ink and paper, this may have been debated in great detail elsewhere, I think there was some diary? There should be a thread about it somewhere, but I don't think many people ever looked at it.

[Herlock Sholmes]

I did read the thread over on JTRForums and I know that Roger Palmer was looking into it but I’m not up to date. Where has that Daily Mail photo come from? Is anyone claiming that it’s actually a photo of Koz?

[Darryl Kenyon]

I did read the thread over on JTRForums and I know that Roger Palmer was looking into it but I’m not up to date. Where has that Daily Mail photo come from? Is anyone claiming that it’s actually a photo of Koz?

Apparently its a composite photo of what he may have looked like from taking features off photo's of his relatives.
Regards Darryl

[barnflatwyngarde]

Here is the link to the Dott letter on the JTRFORUMS.

And very interesting it is too.

http://www.jtrforums.com/showthread....53&t=31637

[barnflatwyngarde]

Here is the link to the Dott letter on the JTRFORUMS.

And very interesting it is too.

http://www.jtrforums.com/showthread....53&t=31637

Oops, the link I posted seems to be the wrong one (not sure how that happened).

Try this one.

https://www.jtrforums.com/showthread.php?p=371275

[Herlock Sholmes]

Apparently its a composite photo of what he may have looked like from taking features off photo's of his relatives.
Regards Darryl

Cheers Darryl

[Darryl Kenyon]

In the letter it says - She shares no exceptional news of late other than a she took ctd. From the Jew Kosminski Wednesday week past. What does ctd stand for ? Is it - cumulative trauma disorder ?
Regards Darryl

[Darryl Kenyon]

If the letter is correct, what it does suggest, albeit indirectly is that Macnaghten was possibly wrong in his belief that Kosminski was removed about March 89 to an asylum. My thinking being that if this is true they certainly released kosminski early , at most four months later only for him to attack a woman again and possibly to attack his sister again as well. If the Tilly in the letter is Matilda Kosminski. Though it might show were Mac got the info that Kos had a great hatred of women from.
Regards Darryl

[Dupin]

Darryl - 'ctd.' was written at the top of the other side of the letter and is taken to mean 'continued'. The letter writer clearly lost the thread after writing this, since the object of the verb 'took' is missing. Possibly 'fright'.
I don't know what Victorians did but I was taught in the 1950s to just continue writing overleaf and then go back and write PTO at the end of the first page.
If this is a Victorianism, some say that the missing 'fright' (or whatever) makes it less likely to be a hoax.
The jury is out, but the temperature over on the other side is most definitely hot.
HTH, JJ

[Darryl Kenyon]

Darryl - 'ctd.' was written at the top of the other side of the letter and is taken to mean 'continued'. The letter writer clearly lost the thread after writing this, since the object of the verb 'took' is missing. Possibly 'fright'.
I don't know what Victorians did but I was taught in the 1950s to just continue writing overleaf and then go back and write PTO at the end of the first page.
If this is a Victorianism, some say that the missing 'fright' (or whatever) makes it less likely to be a hoax.
The jury is out, but the temperature over on the other side is most definitely hot.
HTH, JJ

Thank you for that Dupin. I hadn't realised that.
Regards Darryl

[Abby Normal]

seems weird that a letter sent from England to Australia from loved ones would be so short, with alot of it talking about koz. plus seems odd he would be referred to as "the Jew Kosminski" especially if the letter writer was jewish or had jewish sympathy, no?

[Joshua Rogan]

If the letter is correct, what it does suggest, albeit indirectly is that Macnaghten was possibly wrong in his belief that Kosminski was removed about March 89 to an asylum.

It doesn't do much for his assertion that there were only five victims, either, if Kosminski was threatening women only days before the McKenzie murder.

If the Tilly in the letter is Matilda Kosminski.

To me, it seems highly unlikely that the writer would be on first name terms with "poor Tilly" and yet refer to her brother as "the jew Kosminsky", as if a) she wouldn't have been jewish herself, and b) they were unaware of the brother's first name.