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Post by rick3 on Oct 13, 2010 20:05:39 GMT -5
Here goes nothing: - 2003....Mark Falzini/ Dolores Raisch/ Steve Lehman & Siglinde Rach expose' the Mersman Table Brace refinding@Wilburtha and the allignment of the ransom note holes.
- 1948 Elmer Bolliard discovers the N>S>D>A>P confession on the Mersman fixing his own table in Plainfield NJ.
- 1938 or 1939...According to Bolliard and the salesman from the Wachung Furniture Warehouse the table was purchased NEW in either Plainfield or Summit NJ
- 1932 Hopewell NJ original holes are punched in the Nursery Note....
- So...what theory explains how Bolliards table could be the original template nigh on about 6 years earlier before it was purchased? Or, is it just an exact replica? Was it a 1932 leftover? Or...
- Are we proposing that ALL Mersman tables of this type, either Duncan Pfyfe or similar Drum style had the exact same 3-hole pattern for the past 6 years? Or just 1931-32?
- If Bolliard and the saleman from Wachung are so sharp and observant....why dont we know the year and model number of this exact table?HELLO...
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Post by wolf2 on Oct 13, 2010 22:29:09 GMT -5
can we determine what year it was built? i think its a hoax
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kevkon
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Post by kevkon on Oct 14, 2010 15:23:54 GMT -5
Rick, did you ever attempt to make those holes with a block of wood like the table piece? If you haven't, you ought to give it a try. Btw, I have tons on this table ( I actually grew up about a mile from the store it supposedly was sold from and remember my parents going there for furniture). If you try the "hole punching" and even remotely feel the table as a "template" is still viable, I'll share what I have. I doubt it will be necessary, though.
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Post by rick3 on Oct 14, 2010 16:32:19 GMT -5
kev--there are 16 ways to meet your lover...why dont you just accept it is at least ways possible and share all your enlightening info just this once? - why not just take off the plinth, hold it up against a window sos you can "see the light" and poke 3 holds center on?
- its not exactly rocket science?
- I did drill holes w/ a drill press and I can press some holes...so there? It helps if the tool is sharp and pointed...I didnt have any clover leafs?
- there is no ASTM standard for holes in paper.
- the thing thats off is the table & brace/ not them holds...
- all your withholding is always con-venient for you alone?
- just slip out the back Jack/ make a lil plan Stan...
- Im just dying to know your Mermans number...mabye 25-34?
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Post by Michael on Oct 14, 2010 18:06:43 GMT -5
I personally cannot let go of the possibility it was used in some way. I do think the table is within the possible years or the Police would have quickly pointed it out that it wasn't. However, sometimes the most obvious is overlooked when something is quickly dismissed. The holes lining up is something they either missed or failed to mention until Mark discovered it.
I also think if this table is a hoax that making the assumption the guy who turned it over is the "hoaxer" could be a wrong one. It doesn't necessarily mean he was in on it.
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kevkon
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Post by kevkon on Oct 14, 2010 20:18:36 GMT -5
It may not be "rocket science" Rick, but the investigation of the means by which those holes were made is science. The "Mersman" is bad science. Me, withhold?? Nah, I just enjoy watching the line reel out.
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Post by rick3 on Oct 15, 2010 1:52:58 GMT -5
I personally cannot let go of the possibility it was used in some way. I do think the table is within the possible years or the Police would have quickly pointed it out that it wasn't. However, sometimes the most obvious is overlooked when something is quickly dismissed. The holes lining up is something they either missed or failed to mention until Mark discovered it. I also think if this table is a hoax that making the assumption the guy who turned it over is the "hoaxer" could be a wrong one. It doesn't necessarily mean he was in on it. Michael--my fascination with the Mersman angle goes far beyond the punching of the holes and The Joker's infantile paralysis. Apparently the person or persons that conceived of this gambit were far more intellegent or clever than our ability to discern their methods and motives? Someone needs to be mistaken about the table being brand spanking new in 1938? Maybe it was returned to the Warehouse in 1932? And then "resold" to Bolliard? Maybe it just looked brand new? The subtlety of "not calling attention to the hole pattern" in the confession is especially clever! And the fact that it may never be discovered is also Grist for the Mill--so why leave it for 1948 and 2003....its a bit like the Jones letter which surfaces in the 1960s....like the reading of a Last Will and Testament or Ben Guns treasure map? And it is not found in the Bronx...its right Next Door to Next Day Hill! Heres the Deal: the poet/authors must first remove the top by unscrewing 6 wood screws from underneath. This is sort of a "pain" to begin with...but still you cant use the Plinth to Punch the Holds because the big Bolt is sticking up in the center? So now you have to remove an additional four screws holding the plinth onto the stem (or at least unscrew the large bolt?). What kind of anal retentive wing-nut goes to all this trouble just to leave an epitaph that might never go unnoticed? Its a bit reminiscent of all the extra steps unnecessary to write the ransom notes with colored symbols in the first place--way overthinking something that could readily be far simpler(Parker)? Its likely a recognizable abnormal personality trait...or mental pattern we can discern? Maybe someone who has spent alot of time in institutions...
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kevkon
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Post by kevkon on Oct 15, 2010 7:31:04 GMT -5
Then do what I did. Spend the time and money investigating the table and the tale ( that's the good part). Hey wanna but some Mersman parts? How about a catalog set? I also have quite a bit period writing paper, ink, and writing related items. $650 takes it all.
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Joe
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Post by Joe on Oct 15, 2010 12:53:25 GMT -5
Sorry Kevin, the Mersman is about as significant to this case as an ottoman out of Schwarzkopf's living room.. no takers here for your memorabilia. ;D I've been telling people for years how Hauptmann punched those holes (no charge) and you only reinforced my beliefs based on the inventory of finishing nails found in his possession and the fact that carpenters blunt the ends by inverting the nail so its head is facing downwards.. makes a dandy punch.
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kevkon
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Post by kevkon on Oct 15, 2010 17:46:57 GMT -5
Did anyone ever check to see if anything was written under it???
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Post by Michael on Oct 16, 2010 7:51:30 GMT -5
I've always wondered about this Joe.... You research shows the inverted nail could have been used - but there's the one hole which Rab coined as "clover" that I think might have been made by something else. I also wondered, despite the lack of information in the reports, whether or not the Authorities had concluded the method and/or items used. I found something scrawled on a story written by someone close to Lt. Finn that I want to look into a little more before I discuss. (Sometimes Cops would say things they didn't put into their reports and the information is just as good). *(Joe's research can be found here): lindberghkidnap.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=joe&action=display&thread=359
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Post by Michael on Oct 18, 2010 8:26:35 GMT -5
I am interested to get Sue's input here....
She took the research to the "next" level actually taking a tour of the factory.
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Joe
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Post by Joe on Oct 18, 2010 10:08:49 GMT -5
From the countless holes I've punched using the head of an inverted finishing nail, the clover shape is really just one naturally occuring variation. And it can occur within a stack of 4 or 5 individual sheets punched at the same time, while the other holes appear quite different in form. The sporadic presence of the paper chads around a fairly stable base appearance tells us while the method is relatively duplicable, it's by no means a precise science.
I believe this has as much to do with the makeup of the paper, the orientation and the way the linen fibres and pulp come together randomly in manufacture. I've seen square, rectangular, almost totally round holes, again from the same punched series so I'm not surprised the shapes actually seen in the ransom notes may well have led to the belief that a specific punch was used at other times.
From what I've seen, one simple instument punched with a hammer through multiple sheets of writing paper against a solid but yielding substrate like a piece of wood, could well have produced all of the holes seen in the ransom notes.
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Joe
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Post by Joe on Oct 18, 2010 11:43:23 GMT -5
Well Kevin, I did hear of some coffee table gossip from around the Mersman in the Hopewell woods a few years back. You probably recall that groundbreaking session, in which each member took turns wearing the table brace as kind of spiritual mask. Apparently there was a suspected link between Schwarzy's ottoman and the Empire of the same name. It was widely rumored during the investigation that the timing of the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and the birthday of one of the case's most notorious figures were synchronistically interwoven. You see, it just so happens the event took place on the same day that one Alphonse Gabriel Capone first saw the light of day. Now, do you believe that??
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kevkon
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Post by kevkon on Oct 18, 2010 17:02:12 GMT -5
You know, all kidding aside, the interesting aspect of the Mersman affair to me is how people look at things. Those who want to believe something will overlook those things that are not in alignment ( no pun intended) while concentrating on the things that support a particular position. It goes for those on both sides of the table ( oops). In the case of the table part there are 4 holes arranged radially around a center bolt hole. The spacing is about 1" which is certainly similar to the ransom notes. What seems to be ignored in all of this is that the extra two holes are not used, the hole sizes are drastically different than those on the notes, the table block size has no corroboration to the location of the holes on the notes, and finally as anyone who has made those holes can attest, it really would be totally inappropriate as a template.
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Joe
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Post by Joe on Oct 18, 2010 18:06:17 GMT -5
Good points Kevin and it's interesting how viewpoints have almost polarized on its legitimacy. For me, the difficult areas to get past are all of the things you mentioned as well as the close proximity of the two locations in New Jersey - where the table was found and the Haring book, and it's picture measurement scale reference, was published.
If it was my investigation, I think I'd include the possibility of a worker at the Mersman factory who had been following the case, was somewhat fascinated by the standard 3 hole pattern in the ransom notes and took it into his own hands to "eyeball" the drilling sequence to his own specification and engage in a little literary nonsense.
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Post by rick3 on Oct 30, 2010 5:39:43 GMT -5
can we determine what year it was built? i think its a hoax Steve--I totally agree that there are elements of hoax in the Mersman table...but true to the memory of the LKC, elements of quilty knowledge as well. Theres no possible way a table bought new in 1938 could have been used to create them holes back in 1932? But maybe thats not the clues on which the author wanted us to focus? The real hoax centers on Doc Condon and that JFC's gang in the Bronx never laid eyes on CJr. Its a pure extortion thru and thru...and disconnected from the actual crime...just ask Det. Ellis H.Parker, who was divorced from the keystone cops that bungled the LKC.
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Post by Michael on Oct 30, 2010 9:01:02 GMT -5
For me, I guess in the end, I grade this an "incomplete." We need more information to go either way. Some have already but in my mind I can't yet.
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