New Ideas and New Research on the Diary

[Scott Nelson]

If I recall, when I originally posted the image Caroline Brown dismissed it as another one of Barrett's lies---speculating that he had seen the donkey photo sometime during his life and just threw it in to his supposedly fictional confession as a bit of useful detail.

Maybe it came from Billy Graham, or one of his parents?

[rjpalmer]

Tracing the photograph or photo album after all these years is wildly improbable, but the headstone reads "Chubby, the Dear & Affectionate Little Friend of H & M Pennell."

The 1921 UK Census lists Harriett & Mary Pennell, two spinster sisters, living at 9 Brougham Terrace, Everton, Liverpool.

Mary was a member of the Royal Human Society and ran a cat shelter in Brougham Terrace.

[Lombro2]

I was 100% convinced of that Family Provenance because I tended to give women the benefit of the doubt. Then I researched it to death, going back to Forbey and Yapp and the laundry service that fenced items stolen by maids, and couldn't prove it.

Now I know nobody can sit on a Jack the Ripper diary for even five minutes, much less 100 years. At least, not in Liverpool.