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  • Swanson Said Dear Boss Letter Writer Was Known?

    Hi Stewart

    Rather than post this on the Marginalia threads, do I gather that further up the page in the shot of the Marginalia that you posted, Swanson noted that the identity of the Dear Boss letter writer was known to the top police officials at Scotland Yard? Perhaps you could post that bit of marginalia in full if you would.

    Thanks

    Chris
    Christopher T. George
    Organizer, RipperCon #JacktheRipper-#True Crime Conference
    just held in Baltimore, April 7-8, 2018.
    For information about RipperCon, go to http://rippercon.com/
    RipperCon 2018 talks can now be heard at http://www.casebook.org/podcast/

  • #2
    Faint

    Originally posted by ChrisGeorge View Post
    Hi Stewart
    Rather than post this on the Marginalia threads, do I gather that further up the page in the shot of the Marginalia that you posted, Swanson noted that the identity of the Dear Boss letter writer was known to the top police officials at Scotland Yard? Perhaps you could post that bit of marginalia in full if you would.
    Thanks
    Chris
    Chris, here's the part you refer to, but again you can see how faint it is. You might like to download the image and play with it.

    Click image for larger version

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    SPE

    Treat me gently I'm a newbie.

    Comment


    • #3
      Better

      I think that this is a better version -

      Click image for larger version

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      SPE

      Treat me gently I'm a newbie.

      Comment


      • #4
        Hi All,

        Stewart's post seems to add, "known to Scotland Yard head office[rs] [of/and?] CID".

        Click image for larger version

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        Regards,

        Simon
        Last edited by Simon Wood; 03-10-2009, 10:39 PM.
        Never believe anything until it has been officially denied.

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        • #5
          Yes, it seems to me to say 'known to head officers of C.I.D.'.

          It's frustrating that he doesn't name the fellow. It's as though he's merely reiterating what he read Anderson say. Makes me wonder if he (Swanson) even knew the identity of the suspected author.

          I'm no more convinced that Tom Bulling wrote the Dear Boss letter than I am convinced Kosminski was the Ripper.

          Yours truly,

          Tom Wescott

          Comment


          • #6
            Known to Scotland Yard. Head offices of CID?

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Tom_Wescott View Post
              Yes, it seems to me to say 'known to head officers of C.I.D.'.

              It's frustrating that he doesn't name the fellow. It's as though he's merely reiterating what he read Anderson say. Makes me wonder if he (Swanson) even knew the identity of the suspected author.

              I'm no more convinced that Tom Bulling wrote the Dear Boss letter than I am convinced Kosminski was the Ripper.

              Yours truly,

              Tom Wescott
              Our paths crossed. I think we are reading it correctly?

              Comment


              • #8
                Funny the idiosyncracies of people. I'm a bit of a compulsive note-taker (as Swanson seems to have been) and if I'd spent my life having to write "Scotland yard" I would have abbreviated it to "SY" by the time I'd retired.

                Comment


                • #9
                  "...head officers of CID" I think. Does anyone find it odd that the word "head" is underlined - twice?
                  Kind regards, Sam Flynn

                  "Suche Nullen" (Nietzsche, Götzendämmerung, 1888)

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Sam Flynn View Post
                    "...head officers of CID" I think. Does anyone find it odd that the word "head" is underlined - twice?
                    Unless the word is read. Maybe read something of CID???

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      To me it looks like either 'Lead' or 'Head', but that's an excellent suggestion, Mitch. And a great point, Sam. Perhaps he just wanted to qualify that this information was known only to a small group of people, none of whom were apparently Anderson's critics.

                      An alternative suggestion is not that the identity of the man was known to the head offices of CID, but that the man was PERSONALLY known. Allegedly, Bulling had the fullest confidences of Monro, so he was likely personally known to quite a few ranking officials.

                      Yours truly,

                      Tom Wescott

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                      • #12
                        The word we're reading as 'officers' and offices' might in fact be 'officials'. Notice the second 'i' and the 'extra' letter.

                        Yours truly,

                        Tom Wescott

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Simon Wood View Post
                          Hi All,

                          Stewart's post seems to add, "known to Scotland Yard head office[rs] [of/and?] CID".

                          [ATTACH]4848[/ATTACH]

                          Regards,

                          Simon

                          Hi Stewart

                          Many thanks for posting the scan, Stewart, and to Simon and Tom for adding their opinions. Yes I agree it appears to read, as Simon thinks, "known to Scotland Yard head office[rs] [of/and?] CID".

                          This notation thus seems to confirm the notions of Anderson, Macnaghten and Littlechild that the name of the journalist behind "Dear Boss" was known, and was presumably Thomas J. Bulling of the Central News Agency if we go by the Littlechild letter.

                          Although, as does Tom Wescott, I continue to find the police suspicion somewhat suspect and a bit too certain. Still it's good to get the opinion of one more top official on the matter, for what it's worth!

                          All the best

                          Chris
                          Christopher T. George
                          Organizer, RipperCon #JacktheRipper-#True Crime Conference
                          just held in Baltimore, April 7-8, 2018.
                          For information about RipperCon, go to http://rippercon.com/
                          RipperCon 2018 talks can now be heard at http://www.casebook.org/podcast/

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            I am posting another scan of the marginalia that make make the writing a bit clearer.

                            It should also be pointed out that Swanson has underlined the part of the sentence that reads "and it would ill become me to violate the unwritten rule of the service." He also drew a line to the left of the paragraph that states: "Scotland Yard can boast that not even the subordinate officers of the department will tell tales out of school..." apparently to highlight it. This followed the sentence where Anderson states that "the ‘Jack-the-Ripper’ crimes are not within that category." (ie. the category of undiscovered crimes)

                            I think this makes it at least feasible that the phrase "known to Scotland Yard head officers of CID" refers not to the Jack the Ripper letter, but instead to the identity of the Ripper.

                            Rob H
                            Attached Files

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Belief

                              Originally posted by ChrisGeorge View Post
                              Hi Stewart
                              This notation thus seems to confirm the notions of Anderson, Macnaghten and Littlechild that the name of the journalist behind "Dear Boss" was known, and was presumably Thomas J. Bulling of the Central News Agency if we go by the Littlechild letter.
                              Although, as does Tom Wescott, I continue to find the police suspicion somewhat suspect and a bit too certain. Still it's good to get the opinion of one more top official on the matter, for what it's worth!
                              All the best
                              Chris
                              Chris, in view of the clear cut statement of Littlechild that "it was generally believed at the Yard that Tom Bullen [sic] of the Central News was the originator..." I see no reason to doubt that what he says here is correct and that Bulling (and or Moore) was the one that Anderson and Macnaghten had in mind. Of course, Warren thought it was a hoax too.

                              What is interesting though, is the fact that Littlechild doesn't state that it was 'Bullen', but that it was believed that it was, thus indicating that it wasn't a proven fact, but was a belief. There can be several reasons for this, not least of all the fact that it is most difficult to actually prove in a court of law that something was written by a particular person.

                              Like much else in the case, the likelihood is that we shall never know for sure.
                              SPE

                              Treat me gently I'm a newbie.

                              Comment

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