The “Dear Boss” letter was a message allegedly written by the unidentified Victorian-era serial killer known as Jack the Ripper. The letter was addressed to the Central News Agency of London and dated September, 25 1888. It was postmarked and received by the media outlet on September 27, 1888. It was forwarded to Scotland Yard two days later, on September 29th.

Although many dispute the “Dear Boss” letter’s authenticity, it is regarded as the first correspondence signed “Jack the Ripper,” ultimately resulting in the murderer being known by this name.

Following the publication of the “Dear Boss” letter and the later “Saucy Jacky” postcard, both correspondence gained worldwide notoriety. These publications were the first time the name “Jack the Ripper” had been used to refer to the killer, soon capturing the imagination of the public. In the weeks following their publication, hundreds of hoax letters claiming to be from “Jack the Ripper” were received by police and the news media, most of which copied key phrases from the original letters.

In 1931, a journalist named Fred Best reportedly confessed that he and a colleague at The Star newspaper named Tom Bullen had written the “Dear Boss” letter, the “Saucy Jacky” postcard, and other hoax messages claiming to be from the Whitechapel Murderer. Best stated that the pair had chosen to name Jack the Ripper, in order to maintain acute public interest in the case and to keep sales of The Star high.

The two-page “Dear Boss” letter was written in red ink and contains several spelling & punctuation errors. The overall motivation of the author was evidently to mock investigative efforts and preview future slayings.

The letter itself 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