Author: Barbara Heilchuck
Saturday, 23 November 2002 - 01:54 pm |        |
Having read Cornwell’s new book, and others, I have come to the conclusion that I need to read a bit more about the letters themselves. There is a book called "Letters from hell". Anyone have info on that? Are there any other books anyone might recommend?
Thanks
Barbara |
Author: Bob Hinton
Saturday, 23 November 2002 - 08:25 pm | |
Dear Barbara,
The title of this board is "Which letters are authentic". I can say without fear of argument they all are - and I can prove it!
If however you are personally interested in which letters were written by the actual killer then you pays your money and takes your choice. I believe that if any letter was written by the killer it was the Lusk letter.
The book you mention is a superb piece of research and should be on every enthusiasts bookshelf. If you have problems getting a copy I have one for sale. Please email me at bob@hinton330.fsnet.co.uk if you are interested.
Bob Hinton |
Author: Richard P. Dewar
Sunday, 24 November 2002 - 02:11 am | |
Hi Barbara,
Yes, the book "Letter's From Hell" is a wonderful read. It has the text of hundreds of letters. It also has photos of many of the letters.
Most interesting is the narrative by the authors which gives history of the letters and many of the events surrounding them (including the little known fact that two convicted hoaxsters in the case were women!).
Fortunately, Stewart Evans, who is one of the authors of the book, is a frequent contributor to these boards. He is a wonderful source of knowledge on the case and very generous in sharing his information with we novices.
Welcome to the boards, Barbara, I hope you have fun!
Rich |
Author: PHHoover
Thursday, 05 December 2002 - 03:27 pm | |
Hi, all ...
I'm new to the list, and have been poring over the site, which is fascinating ...
I've always had a question about the letters, and hoped to find it in the forensic thread or this one. While there were a couple of postings that seemed to approach my question, I found none that actually answered it. If I missed it, please forgive me.
I am somewhat familiar with forensics, having done some professional writing that involves it --at least marginally.
My question is this: handwriting analysis, such as that done by law enforcement / FBI document examiners, can usually determine, with a reasonable certainty, whether a particular person has written something. Of course, that assumes that there are Ripper "suspect" samplars for comparison. While there may not be handwriting samples available for all, it would seem as if there would be samplars (correspondence, etc.) for the more "educated" suspects -- eg: the Duke of Clarence, Montague, etc.
Has any comparison been done on the purported Ripper letters and available suspect writing samplars? For that matter, have the various letters ever been analyzed by a document examiner who could determine whether they were written by a single person or several?
Can anyone shed any light on that?
Thanks.
Murphy |
Author: Stuart
Friday, 06 December 2002 - 03:58 am | |
Hi Murphy.
I'm pretty new here myself too...so ignore everything I say :-) Ok, now I believe that if any of the letters were sent by JTR it is MOST likely to have been the Lusk kidney letter, "From Hell". I've got a few suspicions as to why, but suffice it to say that I think it MOST likely. The others? Well dodgy most of them that's for sure. Even the first JTR letters; "Dear Boss" and such like.
Now, apparently Patricia Cornwell has proved that some of the letters were written by Walter Sickert. Hmmm...dunno about that. Maybe he did. Don't mean he's JTR though.
My suspicion of letters, diaries and what-not revolve around "Is it signed Jack the Ripper? It is! Ooh dear, don't like that. Sounds a bit obvious." That's just my angle though.
cheers
Stu |
Author: Julian Rosenthal
Monday, 09 December 2002 - 07:43 pm | |
G'day guys,
For more info about the letters I suggest you take up Bob Hintons offer and also read Stewart Even's 'Letters From Hell'. Both are invaluable resources and provide far more knowledge than trying to surmise which letters are real by perusing through them unaided.
Sincerely
Jules |
Author: Leanne Perry
Tuesday, 10 December 2002 - 01:26 am | |
G'day,
Patricia Cornwell found 5 letters in the 'Ripper Letters' file signed 'Nemo', which was Walter Sicket's stage name when he acted from 1879 to 1880. Other than that, she hasn't proved anything!
She does not even offer readers of her book an explaination why Sickert even thought of the 'stage name' 'Jack the Ripper', except that 'Jack' can be found in some works of William Shakespear. That's a pretty weak argument in my opinion!
LEANNE! |
Author: Vicki
Tuesday, 10 December 2002 - 09:17 am | |
Hi Leanne,
I'm surprised Patricia C. didn't go into more detail on the letters and artwork.
There were two Jules Verne novels published prior to Sickerts acting career. Twenty-thousand Leagues Under the Sea and Mysterious Island. Captain Nemo is a main character as we all pretty much know. Notice how much Jules looks like the word Juwes which was written on the Goulston St. wall.
Vicki |
Author: Howard Brown
Tuesday, 10 December 2002 - 09:45 pm | |
| People: I saw the Cornwell/Sickert documentary too,and came away with an impression that had I been totally unaware of the case at all,Mrs.Cornwell has a fixation for Sickert. Hey,Sickert could have written those letters...He could also have doodled those caricatures at the Hotel....just an amateur grandpop/detective over here,but to me,he had a fixation on Jack the Ripper..Sort of a macabre "fan",where MAYBE Mr.Sickert was a Jack-wannabe.... |
Author: Dan Norder
Wednesday, 11 December 2002 - 08:38 pm | |
True Graffito:
The Jules R. Verne that will not be blamed for Nemo?
Nah.
Dan
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