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Back to the London of Jack the Ripper (Exhibit/London)

A new exhibition debunks the myths surrounding Jack the Ripper and paints a vivid portait of Victorian London. Nigel Richardson reports.

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It is a repulsive and fascinating item and true obsessives will make a beeline for it. “This is the original 'Dear Boss’ letter,” confirmed Julia Hoffbrand, the co-curator of a new exhibition dedicated to Jack the Ripper. The letter marks the point in the Ripper story at which reality turned into myth.

It was sent to the head of a London news agency on September 25, 1888 following the murders of three women in a month in the East End. Written in red ink, it starts “Dear Boss”, gives warning that “I am down on whores and I shunt [sic] quit ripping them till I do get buckled”, and is signed “Yours truly, Jack the Ripper”....
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)