The Ripper Letters
Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper
During the period of the Ripper murders, the media, police and other officials had received a sea of letters. The Whitechapel Murders had created such a media frenzy that many local citizens found it irresistible to not want to be a part of this sensational investigation.
Some of the letters were sent by concerned citizens offering their support in the ongoing investigation, yet hundreds of letters were written by pranksters – with the intent of taunting police. Apart from a few well-intentioned letters from Whitechapel citizens hoping to aid police in their efforts to apprehend Jack the Ripper, the bulk of these letters were crass, distasteful or simply worthless.
Several of the ‘Ripper Letters' were written as if by the killer himself. The vast majority of them, if not all, were believed to be hoaxes. Yet, there are three letters that stand out in particular…
Dear Boss Letter
Jack the Ripper "Dear Boss Letter" EnvelopeThe Dear Boss Letter, which was dated September 25th, was received by the Central News Agency on September 27, 1888, the same day as its postmark. This letter was then sent on to Scotland Yard two days later.
Though initially viewed as a prank, the Dear Boss Letter quickly gained attention after Catherine Eddowes' murder on September 30th. In the letter, the author made mention of clipping off his next victim's ears. Eddowes was found with one earlobe severed.
In the same manner as the other famed Ripper Letters, the Dear Boss Letter is rife with misspellings, as well as grammatical and punctuation errors.
Jack the Ripper Dear Boss Letter
Facsimile of the Dear Boss Letter
Jack the Ripper Dear Boss Letter
Facsimile of the Dear Boss Letter
It Reads:
Dear Boss,
I keep on hearing the police have caught me but they wont fix me just yet. I have laughed when they look so clever and talk about being on the right track. That joke about Leather Apron gave me real fits. I am down on whores and I shant quit ripping them till I do get buckled. Grand work the last job was. I gave the lady no time to squeal. How can they catch me now. I love my work and want to start again. You will soon hear of me with my funny little games. I saved some of the proper red stuff in a ginger beer bottle over the last job to write with but it went thick like glue and I cant use it. Red ink is fit enough I hope ha. ha. The next job I do I shall clip the ladys ears off and send to the police officers just for jolly wouldn't you. Keep this letter back till I do a bit more work, then give it out straight. My knife's so nice and sharp I want to get to work right away if I get a chance. Good Luck.
Yours truly
Jack the Ripper
Dont mind me giving the trade name
PS Wasnt good enough to post this before I got all the red ink off my hands curse it No luck yet. They say I'm a doctor now. ha ha
The Dear Boss Letter is arguably the most famous of the three most prominent “Ripper Letters”, as it marked the first usage of the moniker that would later become legend… the author signed it,
Yours truly
Jack the Ripper
Soon after the Dear Boss Letter was made public, hundreds more letters were received claiming to be written by Jack the Ripper; all of them undoubtedly hoaxes. Most of them possessed the same tone and catch phrases from the Dear Boss Letter and were signed using the previously unknown nickname of Jack the Ripper.
The Dear Boss Letter, along with the Saucy Jack Postcard, were published by Metropolitan Police and handed out to citizens in hopes that someone would be able to identify the handwriting, yet nothing came of it. Newspapers also reprinted the messages, creating a worldwide media frenzy and increasing the celebrity of Jack the Ripper.
Some sources claim there was a previous letter, which had been dated September 17th, in which the author referred to himself as Jack the Ripper. However, most experts discount that letter as a modern day hoax which was placed in police records during the 1900s, well after the time of the murders.
While not well publicized, police officials later stated that they believed the Dear Boss Letter and Saucy Jack Postcard to be the work of a local journalist by the name of Tom Bullen.
Years later, in 1931, a journalist named Fred Best reportedly confessed to writing the Dear Boss Letter and Saucy jack Postcard in an attempt to “keep the business alive”. It is not known if his claims were genuine, but it is probable.
Shortly after the investigation ended, the Dear Boss Letter came up missing from police files. It's believed that one of the investigating officers in the Ripper case had kept it as a souvenir. In 1988, nearly a century after the case had been closed, it was returned to Metropolitan Police by an anonymous party.
victorian_scroll
Saucy Jack Postcard
Saucy jack PostcardThe Central News Agency received the Saucy Jack Postcard on October 1, 1888, the same day as its postmark. The writer's handwriting on the postcard was very similar to that seen in the Dear Boss Letter. The Saucy Jack Postcard makes mention of a “double event“, which was obviously in reference to the murders of Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes, both of which occurred the morning of September 30th.
It Reads:
I was not codding dear old Boss when I gave you the tip, you'll hear about Saucy Jacky's work tomorrow double event this time number one squealed a bit couldn't finish straight off. Had not got time to get ears off for police thanks for keeping last letter back till I got to work again.
Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper Saucy Jack Postcard
Facsimile of the Saucy Jack Postcard
It's worth noting that part of Eddowes' ear was found severed at the crime scene. Some believe this was an unintentional result of the facial mutilations that the killer performed. Others argue it was deliberate.
Another topic of debate has been whether or not the postcard was sent prior to the murders, or afterward. Some suggest that the message was sent before news of the murders hit local papers, thus substantiating the fact that it was written by someone with firsthand knowledge of the crime. Others argue that because the letter was postmarked more than 24 hours after the killings, it was likely a hoax since most details surrounding the murders were already being reported by the media.
Police later claimed to have identified journalist Tom Bullen, as the author behind both the Saucy Jack Postcard and Dear Boss Letter.
Years later, journalist Fred Best came forth with a confession, claiming to be responsible for both the letter and postcard.
As with the Dear Boss Letter, the Saucy Jack Postcard later turned up missing from police files. Unlike the Dear Boss Letter however, which had been returned in 1988, the Saucy Jack Postcard is still missing. Only a facsimile of it exists in the files.
victorian_scroll
From Hell Letter
The From Hell letter is arguably the most disturbing and noteworthy of the three most prominent Jack the Ripper messages. This is mainly due to how the letter arrived… inside a small box, accompanied by half of a human kidney. Coincidentally, Catherine Eddowes' killer had removed one of her kidneys.
This letter is also distinct in that not only is the handwriting unique, but the writer also left it unsigned. The From Hell Letter also appears to be penned by someone with even less literary prowess than those responsible for the Dear Boss Letter and Saucy Jack Postcard.
Jack the Ripper From Hell Letter
The infamous “From Hell” Letter
The letter, postmarked October 15, was received by George Lusk, head of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee, on October 16, 1888.
It Reads:
From hell
Mr Lusk,
Sor
I send you half the Kidne I took from one women prasarved it for you tother piece I fried and ate it was very nise. I may send you the bloody knif that took it out if you only wate a whil longer
signed
Catch me when you can Mishter Lusk
The kidney had been preserved in alcohol and was in fact confirmed to be that of a human female's. Lusk, along with members of the medical field, believed the kidney and accompanying message to be a practical joke played by medical students who'd obtained the organ from a cadaver.
Dr Thomas Openshaw
Dr Thomas Openshaw
Dr. Thomas Openshaw, the physician who examined the kidney, concluded that it had come from a woman about 45 years of age, who also suffered from Bright's Disease. This disease is a failing of the kidneys as a result of heavy drinking.
Catherine Eddowes was 46 at the time of her murder and was known to drink quite heavily.
Like much of the other evidence in the Jack the Ripper case files, the From Hell Letter and accompanying kidney have either been lost or stolen. All that remains on file is a photograph of the letter taken before its disappearance.
How many letters were received during the time of the Ripper Murders?
It's not exactly known just how many letters were received by authorities, media and other notable figures in Whitechapel during the time of the murders, but it's possible the number may have totaled a few thousand. In the October 20, 1888 edition of The Illustrated Police News, it was reported that over 700 letters had been investigated by police.
Since most of these letters were either discarded, lost, or later destroyed during the bombings in WWII, we can only guess as to what the actual number may have been, but we do know that as many as 300 of the letters are still preserved at the Corporation of London Records Office.
Interactive Ripper Timeline
Whitechapel Murders Timeline
Ripper Journal
CSI: Whitechapel
The Thames Torso Murders
August 7th, 1888: Murder in George Yard
Jack the Ripper Conference 2018
Jack the Ripper Crime Conference Returning to Liverpool this Fall
The Last Podcast on the Left Begins Jack the Ripper Series
On the Path of The Ripper
The Investigation
Jack the Ripper Suspects
The Whitechapel Vigilance Committee
Burgho and Barnaby
Victorian Fashion
Victorian Era Men’s Fashion
Victorian Era Women’s Fashion
THE DEAR BOSS LETTER - YOURS TRULY JACK THE RIPPER
THE BIRTH OF A LEGEND
The name "Jack the Ripper" didn't enter the investigation until after the night of the so-called "double murder" of Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes on 30th September 1888.
Up until that point the killer had been known variously as the "Red Fiend", "The Whitechapel Murderer," and "Leather Apron."
It was the arrival of a gloating letter posted to a London news agency in later September 1888 that would introduce the name 'Jack the Ripper' into the saga.
The letter in question was received by the Central News agency at their premises in the City of London on 27th September 1888.
IGNORED AT FIRST
At first the staff of the news agency weren't too concerned about the letter, and it would be two days before, on September 29th, they would decide to pass it on to the Metropolitan Police.
The letter, written in a boastful tone, was addressed to "The Boss, Central News Office, London, City."
It read:-
Dear Boss,
I keep on hearing the police have caught me but they wont fix me just yet. I have laughed when they look so clever and talk about being on the right track. That joke about Leather Apron gave me real fits. I am down on whores and I shant quit ripping them till I do get buckled. Grand work the last job was. I gave the lady no time to squeal.
How can they catch me now. I love my work and want to start again. You will soon hear of me with my funny little games. I saved some of the proper red stuff in a ginger beer bottle over the last job to write with but it went thick like glue and I cant use it. Red ink is fit enough I hope ha ha. The next job I do I shall clip the ladys ears off and send to the police officers just for jolly wouldn't you. Keep this letter back till I do a bit more work, then give it out straight.
My knife's so nice and sharp I want to get to work right away if I get a chance.
Good Luck.
Yours truly
Jack the Ripper
Dont mind me giving the trade name. Wasnt good enough to post this before I got all the red ink off my hands curse it No luck yet. They say I'm a doctor now. ha ha”
PERUSE THE DEAR BOSS LETTER
A photo of the Dear Boss Envelope.
A photo of the front side of the Dear Boss letter.
A photo of the reverse side of the letter with the signature Jack the Ripper.
POLICE SCEPTICISM
The police were initially sceptical about this piece of correspondence actually having been written by the killer and believed it to be a hoax.
But, within a day of the agency having passed it to them, two more women - Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes - were murdered in the early hours of the 30th September.
The police found themselves with little choice but to take a closer look at what "Jack the Ripper" had written.
The statement "I want to get to work right away if I get a chance", given that he had apparently done just that, apparently backed up the author's claim that he was the murderer.
Meanwhile, the threat to "clip the ladys ears off and send to the police officers"; when her killer had indeed mutilated Catharine Eddowes's earlobes was, so the police thought, a bit too prophetic for them to dismiss it as an idle boast.
Furthermore, with their investigation floundering, and press criticism of their lack of progress increasing, they desperately needed a breakthrough in their hunt for the killer. Perhaps this letter would provide that sought after breakthrough?
THE POLICE RELEASE THE LETTER
So, on the 1st October, the police made the Dear Boss letter public and, in so doing, the escapades of an unknown East End murderer and his sordid set of crimes were given a gruesome immortality and, as a result, an almost bizarre element of melodrama entered the case.
ANOTHER LETTER IS RECEIVED
In the early mail on Monday October 1st, a postcard that was written in a similar handwriting to the "Dear Boss" letter, arrived at the Central News Agency.
This too was scrawled in red ink but, in addition, there were what appeared to be bloodstains on it.
The writer had not put a date on the postcard but it did bear the postmark LONDON E, and this was dated the 1st of October.
If the author was not the same writer responsible for the "Dear Boss" letter, there was little doubt that he was at least familiar with the contents of that missive.
SAUCY JACKY
The postcard read:-
I was not codding dear old Boss when I gave you the tip, you'll hear about Saucy Jacky's work tomorrow double event this time number one squealed a bit couldn't finish straight off had not the time to get ears for police. thanks for keeping last letter back till I got to work again.
Jack the Ripper.”
PERUSE THE SAUCY JACK POST CARD
A photo of the front of the Saucy Jack postcard.
A photo of the reverse side of the Saucy Jack postcard.
It was obvious that whoever had penned the postcard was inferring that it had been written a very short time after the murders had taken place, and that the writer was boasting to the police about the two murders he had, supposedly, just committed.
In addition, it included the taunt that he had indeed tried to carry out his threat from the previous communiqué of clipping a victim's ears off.
THE LETTERS START COMING IN
Within days of the "Dear Boss" letter and postcard being made public, copies of them began appearing in the worldwide press.
This publicity proved a bane to the police endeavours to catch the killer as it sparked off a national past time that saw hoaxers countrywide reaching for their pens and, very soon, the beleaguered police investigation was swamped by a veritable tidal wave of bogus correspondence that purported to come from the murderer.
The police had no choice but to read and assess each letter, form a judgment on its veracity and, if possible, trace and investigate the writer.
GEORGE SIMS OPINION
George Sims, the journalist, writing in his Dagonet column for the Referee on Sunday October 7th, aptly summed up the effect that the release of the letter and post card - and the arrival in the public consciousness of the name Jack the Ripper - had had:-
JACK THE RIPPER is the hero of the hour. A gruesome wag, a grim practical joker, has succeeded in getting an enormous amount of fun out of a postcard which he sent to the Central News. The fun is all his own, and nobody shares in it, but he must be gloating demonically at the present moment at the state of perturbation in which he has flung the public mind. Grave journals have reproduced the sorry jest, and have attempted to seriously argue that the awful Whitechapel fiend is the idle and mischievous idiot who sends blood-stained postcards to the news agency. Of course the whole business is a farce.”
WHAT THE COMMISSIONER THOUGHT
By this time, the police were certain that the correspondence had most certainly not been penned by the same hand that had murdered Mary Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride and Catharine Eddowes. But, of course they had been duty bound to investigate them, if only to trace the author and eliminate him or her from their enquiries.
On 10th October Sir Charles Warren informed the Home Office that:-
At present I think the whole thing a hoax but of course we are bound to try & ascertain the writer in any case.”
ROBERT ANDERSON'S OPINION
In 1910, in his memoirs, Robert Anderson, who at the time of the murders was the Assistant Police Commissioner and head of the Detective Department, was even more emphatic that the letter had been a hoax.
He even stated that the police knew the prankster's identity:-
I will only add here that the "Jack the Ripper" letter which is preserved in the Police Museum at New Scotland Yard is the creation of an enterprising London Journalist.”
THE WRITER KNEW HOW THE PRESS WORKED
The fact that whoever was responsible for sending the letter and creating the name Jack the Ripper sent it to a news agency, rather than to a newspaper, suggests that the writer was, in fact, familiar with the workings of the press at the time.
As George Sims observed to his readers:-
The fact that the self-postcard-proclaimed assassin sent his imitation blood-besmeared communication to the Central News people opens up a wide field for theory. How many among you, my dear readers, would have hit upon the idea of "the Central News" as a receptacle for your confidence? You might have sent your joke to the Telegraph, the Times, any morning or any evening paper, but I will lay long odds that it would never have occurred to communicate with a Press agency. Curious, is it not, that this maniac makes his communication to an agency which serves the entire Press? It is an idea which might occur to a Pressman perhaps; and even then it would probably only occur to someone connected with the editorial department of a newspaper, someone who knew what the Central News was, and the place it filled in the business of news supply. This proceeding on Jack's part betrays an inner knowledge of the newspaper world which is certainly surprising. Everything therefore points to the fact that the jokist is professionally connected with the Press. And if he is telling the truth and not fooling us, then we are brought face to face with the fact that the Whitechapel murders have been committed by a practical journalist - perhaps by a real live editor! Which is absurd, and at that I think I will leave it.”
THE LETTER FROM HELL
George Sims may have been content to leave it, but the letter writers most certainly were not.
As October progressed, more and more letters continued to arrive.
Then, on the 16th October 1888, Mr. George Lusk, the President of the Mile End Vigilance Committee received what is now the second most famous of all the letters, the letter "From Hell."