Special Announcement

[Observer]

But you want an exact perfect copy with an etching tool?

Missed this first time around. Precisely, which is why it's pointless trying to compare Maybrick's signature i.e.his will etc, with the signature inscribed into the watch

[Iconoclast]

Does your aunty matter? It's the great debate down the ages.

He's the Cat in the Hat, but he may well have been at lest second to this particular party. Way back when in the annals of time when the Big Bang was creating matter and anti-matter, the material Keith Skinner formed from the deaths of a trillion stars and one of his first acts as a simian (for thus he was) was to identify the inconsistencies between the accounts of Florrie's visit to London in March 1889:

1992-93


1996 (in discussion with Anne Graham)



Hmmm. Matter, anti-matter. It's that old "which is better" debate, isn't it? The anti-matter Orsam says Addison's opening remarks prove that the author of the scrapbook got it wrong. The material Keith Skinner seems to show that the 'error' wasn't such a big deal, and certainly no Big Reveal?

If anything it can be argued it strengthens the case for the diary, as the author (let us say it is JM - oh please let it be he!) reflects on what he has been told by Florence as the reason for her going to London. Addison confirms that was the story Florence gave to her husband. One could interpret from the material that JM didn’t believe a word about Florence’s reason for going to London but played along with it. Hence the reason he put a tail on her (like a cat?).

https://www.orsam.co.uk/specialannouncement.htm

Poor old Lord O. I do detect he is becoming rather desperate. Rather than have his court jesters trumpet a “special announcement” he should convene a “special court” in Chigwell and make it clear to his devoted minions that what is required is proof positive that Bongo created the text. He should accept that Bongo has outsmarted him in the narrative and covered all interpretations. Many people do not believe JM wrote the diary because of the handwriting. I would have thought that would have been enough for the Great Lord, His Master's Voice himself - he could and should have rested on the laurels he had already awarded himself. By the same token, the likes of Skinner, Morris, Iconoclast, and other Clever People do not appear to believe that Bongo wrote the diary but why that should seemingly irk Lord O and RJ so greatly, I simply do not know.

Incidentally, if His Lordship has similarly trawled the boxes of Home Office documents on the Maybrick Case as His Keith Skinnership evidently has, I hope he will have found of great assistance the catalogue prepared by Anne Graham in 1995, a copy of which she generously donated to The National Archives for the benefit of future researchers. And The Baron can take that one to His Lordship on The Bridge! Two-nil, back of the net!

Whichever way you cut this, and whichever universe you happen to be in right now, it seems to me that the Cat in the Hat may just have Shat in the Hat.

Done a whoopsie.

In the beret.

Mole skin or no.

Ike

[MrBarnett]

There is another significant difference between Addison’s opening statement and Hopper’s supplementary statement. Addison stated that the Countess came to London to be operated on by Sir James Paget, Hopper says she came just to ‘see’ him.

Which was it? Did Addison just embroider the information he had received, or did he have additional information that didn’t appear in Hopper’s written statement?

DB is silent on the matter. As was the diary writer, who missed the opportunity to refer to ‘the sick bitch’ having gone under Paget’s knife.

[Observer]

I wonder if you will agree with me, erobitha, that it is remarkable that the 'M' in Florrie's initials which apparently are not on Kelly's wall has the same rising second-half as that used throughout the scrapbook?

How can it when it's not on Kelly's wall?

[Observer]

By the way. "Up the Arsenal"

[Observer]

There's a shock.

There are differences even in his own hand on official documents written in ink. But you want an exact perfect copy with an etching tool?

The M on the watch has the same ornate starting loop on ALL examples except the cricket club.

The A is a diffuclt match but the docuemnts are joined up writing which is practically impossible to do cleanly with the tool used - it is a basic A.

The long loop drop of the Y is on ALL examples.

The R and I is too obscured by the watch detail to get a clear read. The C is much like the A in respect it's purpose is to be clear.

The kick in the lower part of the K is on all three examples and the watch. The loop in the upper K is on the watch, the will and mariage certificate.

This is more for those willing to take off their tinted glasses and look properly.

Tinted glasses? You can spot the differences at a hundred paces looking through a Hazlenut Swirl sweetie wrapper. The M is an M is an M. But really, how on earth can you render a discernible impression of your signature in tiny handwriting inscribed with a makeshift engraving tool into the back of a gold watch? Give ower.

[Observer]

Izzy Iconoclast is just about to make me a lovely cup of tea and she has just said (entirely unprompted) that the 'K' in the watch looks exactly like the 'K' in Maybrick's signature, and she has no skin whatsoever in this game, so what do you say to that little 'corker'?

Had on, I'll get me Twilight Zone specs on. Now then, which K are you referring to out of those three signatures supplied? Out of the three, two of them, the K comes back up with an upward curve. The other one (original will) looks nothing like the K as inscribed into the watch

[erobitha]

I wonder if you will agree with me, erobitha, that it is remarkable that the 'M' in Florrie's initials which apparently are not on Kelly's wall has the same rising second-half as that used throughout the scrapbook?

As Barry Davies was fond of saying: "Remarkable".

I certianly wouldn't be confident enough to say it wasn't so.

[Iconoclast]

There's a shock.

There are differences even in his own hand on official documents written in ink. But you want an exact perfect copy with an etching tool?

The M on the watch has the same ornate starting loop on ALL examples except the cricket club.

The A is a diffuclt match but the docuemnts are joined up writing which is practically impossible to do cleanly with the tool used - it is a basic A.

The long loop drop of the Y is on ALL examples.

The R and I is too obscured by the watch detail to get a clear read. The C is much like the A in respect it's purpose is to be clear.

The kick in the lower part of the K is on all three examples and the watch. The loop in the upper K is on the watch, the will and mariage certificate.

This is more for those willing to take off their tinted glasses and look properly.

I wonder if you will agree with me, erobitha, that it is remarkable that the 'M' in Florrie's initials which apparently are not on Kelly's wall has the same rising second-half as that used throughout the scrapbook?

As Barry Davies was fond of saying: "Remarkable".

[erobitha]

And you are telling me that there is an example there which resembles the one inscribed in the watch? I wouldn't know where to start, there are that many differences

There's a shock.

There are differences even in his own hand on official documents written in ink. But you want an exact perfect copy with an etching tool?

The M on the watch has the same ornate starting loop on ALL examples except the cricket club.

The A is a diffuclt match but the docuemnts are joined up writing which is practically impossible to do cleanly with the tool used - it is a basic A.

The long loop drop of the Y is on ALL examples.

The R and I is too obscured by the watch detail to get a clear read. The C is much like the A in respect it's purpose is to be clear.

The kick in the lower part of the K is on all three examples and the watch. The loop in the upper K is on the watch, the will and mariage certificate.

This is more for those willing to take off their tinted glasses and look properly.

[Iconoclast]

And you are telling me that there is an example there which resembles the one inscribed in the watch? I wouldn't know where to start, there are that many differences

Izzy Iconoclast is just about to make me a lovely cup of tea and she has just said (entirely unprompted) that the 'K' in the watch looks exactly like the 'K' in Maybrick's signature, and she has no skin whatsoever in this game, so what do you say to that little 'corker'?

[Observer]

And you are telling me that there is an example there which resembles the one inscribed in the watch? I wouldn't know where to start, there are that many differences

[Iconoclast]

No apologies needed, as far as I'm concerned, but rules are rules I suppose.

Agreed.

[Iconoclast]

As P&P said, what about the handwriting?

If you read my brilliant Society's Pillar, you'd see that I acknowledge the handwriting as a concern.

[erobitha]

Thank You David Orsam for your great and detailed research!

I take my hat off to you Sir!


The Baron

Do you physically write "The Baron" everytime you sign off a post?