|
Post by hurtelable on Aug 29, 2014 17:50:03 GMT -5
This is why author Noel Behn's conclusion that Jacob Nosovitsky (aka "J. J. Faulkner") wrote all the ransom notes except for the first makes so much sense in view of Noso's background and language skills. Nosovitsky had one heck of a crafty, daring and intelligent criminal mind, who had a pretty good knowledge of German (both spoken and written) AND who could write English fairly well too - as seen in J. J. Faulkner's long letter to Gov. Hoffman. While that letter may have not have gotten an A+ from the point of view of an English professor, its spelling was just about perfect and it was readily understandable by any literate American reading it. It revealed a writer infinitely more proficient in English writing than the ransom note writer.
This, of course, does not rule out the possibility that both the letter to Gov. Hoffman and the ransom notes (except perhaps the first) were BOTH written by Nosovitsky; the poor quality English mixed with the German spellings and syntax on the ransom could have been used by the extremely tricky Nosovitsky deliberately to fool investigators of the crime. After all, Noso was not German nor from Germany and so his use of German spelling and syntax on the ransom notes could reasonably be expected to lead investigators in some direction other than himself.
|
|
|
Post by romeo12 on Aug 29, 2014 21:36:34 GMT -5
I don't really base my research on anybodys book
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2014 9:46:43 GMT -5
Hurtelable,
Are you aware that there was an extensive investigation revolving around that J.J. Faulkner deposit slip that had nothing to do with Nosovitsky? This investigation was active up until they apprehended Hauptmann.
|
|
|
Post by hurtelable on Aug 30, 2014 13:41:43 GMT -5
Yes, but it was not an investigation based on the handwriting on that slip, and it was obvious that the slip had both a phony name and address. Also, (1) Noso wasn't passing any more ransom money after his "Faulkner" deposit, having complied with the law to exchange his gold certificates, and was keeping a low profile; (2) Noso could have had friends in the NYPD and FBI protecting him from serious investigation of the "J. J. Faulkner" deposit. It was only after "J. J. Faulkner" re-emerged again with his letter to Gov. Hoffman in Jan. 1936 , after Hauptmann was convicted and the crime had been "solved" ( in law enforcement's view), that Hoffman got PI William Pelletreau to identify "Faulkner" as Nosovitsky.
Later, as you may know, Condon called out Nosovitsky as "Faulkner" in his public speeches and performances. As I posted before, "J. J. Faulkner" is noted as one of many aliases for Nosovitsky in both NYPD and FBI records.
FYI, the surname "Nosovitsky" seems to have been very rare in the United States at the time. In both the 1930 and 1940 U. S, Censuses, the number of people listed with that name in the entire country was in the single digits and they were all in New York City. Not too surprisingly, there is no Jacob Nosovitsky, nor anything similar to it, in either census. IIRC, he was in jail in 1930 and probably had left the country by 1940. Or it could be he conveniently didn't co-operate with the census takers.
|
|
jack7
Major
Der Führer
Posts: 1,920
|
Post by jack7 on Apr 24, 2015 12:30:16 GMT -5
I see striking dissimilarities between Hauptmann, Noso, and the notes. So far as I've seen they're using such common words letters and lettering that anyone could be matched to the notes. The unusual traits they in some cases even say match when they don't.
It seems I've seen the word boad from Hauptmann's notebook matched to the boad of the notes and it was a perfect match but can't seem to find it again. Am I thinking of the match in one of the books boad to bread?
Is there any book that concentrates on the various handwritings that would answer more questions - especially more of Richard's normal writing and perhaps Noso?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2015 20:17:48 GMT -5
I see striking dissimilarities between Hauptmann, Noso, and the notes. So far as I've seen they're using such common words letters and lettering that anyone could be matched to the notes. The unusual traits they in some cases even say match when they don't. It seems I've seen the word boad from Hauptmann's notebook matched to the boad of the notes and it was a perfect match but can't seem to find it again. Am I thinking of the match in one of the books boad to bread? Is there any book that concentrates on the various handwritings that would answer more questions - especially more of Richard's normal writing and perhaps Noso? What I find confusing is the claim that some of the handwriting in the ransom notes is disguised and some is not. Why would someone write that way? If you are going to disguise your handwriting why not keep doing it? And while you are at it, why not try to write the notes so you don't sound like a german? Why would you want to reveal something like that about yourself? I have seen that notebook page with the word Boad somewhere. I think it was in Hauptmann's 1931 California notebook, but I am not positive about it. Michael would be your best source for this. My go-to book for handwriting is my copy of "The Hand of Hauptmann" by J. Vreeland Haring. It has great photos of all the handwriting exhibits from the trial, all the ransom notes, some of Isidor Fisch's handwriting, Hauptmann's request writings, conceded writings. It also has the Faulkner letter written to Gov. Hoffman and compares it to the Bank Deposit Slip. No Nosovitsky writings, though. I bought my copy of this book through Amazon as a used book. I am sure you would find this book helpful, Jack.
|
|
jack7
Major
Der Führer
Posts: 1,920
|
Post by jack7 on Apr 25, 2015 22:16:01 GMT -5
Thanks Amy!
Sounds like partially what I'm looking for.
There is a little sample of Noso in the Behn paperback. Photo of Nosovitsky has some of his writing below it.
From what I've seen so far I don't think Hauptmann wrote the notes but doubt we'll ever know who did. Could have been someone who knew of or had samples of his writing because some things are very similar. And, as you say, if it's disguised or partially disguised, why disguise yourself to look like a German writer if you're a German writer?
Jack
|
|
|
Post by Michael on Apr 26, 2015 8:15:33 GMT -5
I have seen that notebook page with the word Boad somewhere. I think it was in Hauptmann's 1931 California notebook, but I am not positive about it. Michael would be your best source for this. You're right Amy. It was this same book that Tyrrell told Wilentz had better be "mislaid" because he said there was handwriting in it which was not Hauptmann's and that if it were introduced the net effect wouldn't be desirable. No Nosovitsky writings, though. I've got plenty of Noso's handwriting so if anyone needs examples just let me know.
|
|
|
Post by hurtelable on Apr 26, 2015 17:46:00 GMT -5
Good question. But it would be advantageous for someone who is NOT a German national to disguise himself as a German writer, someone like Nosovitsky. His native languages as a Jew born in the Ukraine would have been Yiddish (similar to German), and likely Russian and/or Ukrainian. But he did gain a pretty good knowledge of the German language by spending a little time in Germany as an international spy. He was even using his knowledge of the German language in the 1920s in some investigative work within the German immigrant community in upstate NY, where he gave himself the German name "Augenblick." (Translation: blink of the eye(s))
|
|
jack7
Major
Der Führer
Posts: 1,920
|
Post by jack7 on Apr 26, 2015 18:18:12 GMT -5
He sure didn't look much like an international spy.
Looks more like a baseball player - mighty Casey when he struck out.
|
|
|
Post by hurtelable on Jan 7, 2016 21:52:37 GMT -5
Just yesterday, poster "xdj" started a new "reddit" thread here, with a post of photos of memorabilia (with official explanations) present in the current NJSP visitors exhibit on the LKC. Among these was the copy of the short business letter dated "Mai 21, 1931" written and signed by Hauptmann (in which Hauptmann requests some unknown party for more time to resolve a "debit" of $74.89). This same letter was posted on this thread by Michael some time ago.
Again, I am not a Certified Document Examiner, but have been instructed by friends who are in the basics of handwriting analysis. What struck me in particular were several similarities between the handwritings on the 1931 Hauptmann letter and Ransom Note # 1 of which I was previously unaware. Both items begin with the salutation "Dear Sir." That by itself is not all that significant. But if you compare the cursive "ear" in "Dear" in these two letters, I think you would see a striking similarity. Also, the "S" elements of the US dollar signs ($) on these two documents are fashioned similarly, although the "$" precedes the numerical amount in the 1931 letter while it follows the numerical amount (European style (?)) in the ransom note. These similarities alone have led me to change my unexpert opinion, and to concede that Hauptmann MAY have written Ransom Note # 1. But any handwriting analyst worth his salt would request at least a dozen known Hauptmann handwriting samples for comparison to Ransom Note # 1 before an objective definitive opinion on this could be rendered.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2018 14:23:54 GMT -5
So I am going to post a video here about the Lindbergh kidnapping. Most of the video is frustrating to watch because most of the audio is in Spanish. Anyone who is fluent in speaking Spanish will enjoy the whole thing. The parts in English are of Jim Fisher talking about Hauptmann's guilt and Robert Bryan (Anna Hauptmann's lawyer) talking about Hauptmann's innocence. Also you will see the Osborns commenting on the handwriting. The reason I am posting this comes at about 3 minutes and 30 seconds into the video. Robert Bryan is talking about an FBI report that was claiming that Hauptmann's fingerprints did not match the prints of the kidnapper. So I am wondering what fingerprints the FBI had that were made by the kidnapper? Is it the unidentified prints from the ladder; perhaps the one from the area on the ladder where only the builder could have left it or the few unidentified prints from a ransom note. Are these prints considered the prints of the kidnapper? Michael, if you can comment about this, have you ever seen such a report by the FBI saying they were in possession of the fingerprints of the kidnapper or is Bryan just interpreting the document that way? Bryan seemed to give the document great significance. youtu.be/zqc0qbKBzHw
|
|
|
Post by Michael on Feb 21, 2018 17:20:06 GMT -5
The reason I am posting this comes at about 3 minutes and 30 seconds into the video. Robert Bryan is talking about an FBI report that was claiming that Hauptmann's fingerprints did not match the prints of the kidnapper. So I am wondering what fingerprints the FBI had that were made by the kidnapper? Is it the unidentified prints from the ladder; perhaps the one from the area on the ladder where only the builder could have left it or the few unidentified prints from a ransom note. Are these prints considered the prints of the kidnapper? Michael, if you can comment about this, have you ever seen such a report by the FBI saying they were in possession of the fingerprints of the kidnapper or is Bryan just interpreting the document that way? Bryan seemed to give the document great significance. For me to say that I have seen each and every report ever written by the "FBI" on this case would be a lie. However, I have seen and do have quite a few. As it relates to the fingerprints, there are some that say Hauptmann's prints did not match what was found. And that is totally correct. But I've never seen any say specifically that Hauptmann's did not match any of the "Kidnappers." There were prints that were never identified, but I've never seen those referred to as definitely being identified as the "Kidnappers." I don't like to speculate but my guess he's reaching when he says that. Again, I could be wrong because there are thousand upon thousands of reports, memos, and letters produced by an FBI source with information about this kidnapping. I go into the prints more in my 1st Chapter of V2. I do it to compliment what's written in V1 and to prove that Kelly did not find any prints in the nursery. The information that I have has never been in any previous publication so it's all new. So I've got new official material along with examples from other cases to prove my position.
|
|
|
Post by wolfman666 on Feb 23, 2018 9:42:45 GMT -5
amy I have a few tv segments with fisher and bryan im going to have to put them on dvd. as long as rail 16 matched the attic wood and the toolmark evidence, the fingerprints don't mean nothing to me.
|
|
|
Post by wolfman666 on Feb 23, 2018 9:51:30 GMT -5
amy a document examiner named mike krakowski in the early 2000s studied the handwriting in this case. I went to his lecture and he pointed out a lot of things I never would imagine to see. I have some of his findings he studied Hauptman letters he got to compare to the ransom notes he claims he wrote the notes. it was a great lecture
|
|
|
Post by scathma on Feb 23, 2018 11:49:39 GMT -5
At 3:39-3:45 the superimposed images look to me like the NJSP archives... though he clearly said he saw the memo at the FBI headquarters in Washington.
|
|
|
Post by rebekah on Feb 26, 2018 18:41:18 GMT -5
amy I have a few tv segments with fisher and bryan im going to have to put them on dvd. as long as rail 16 matched the attic wood and the toolmark evidence, the fingerprints don't mean nothing to me. Hi, Wolf. Do you think Hauptmann wore gloves while he built the ladder, or do you believe he wiped the surface clean when he was done?
|
|
|
Post by rebekah on Feb 26, 2018 18:49:28 GMT -5
So I am going to post a video here about the Lindbergh kidnapping. Most of the video is frustrating to watch because most of the audio is in Spanish. Anyone who is fluent in speaking Spanish will enjoy the whole thing. The parts in English are of Jim Fisher talking about Hauptmann's guilt and Robert Bryan (Anna Hauptmann's lawyer) talking about Hauptmann's innocence. Also you will see the Osborns commenting on the handwriting. The reason I am posting this comes at about 3 minutes and 30 seconds into the video. Robert Bryan is talking about an FBI report that was claiming that Hauptmann's fingerprints did not match the prints of the kidnapper. So I am wondering what fingerprints the FBI had that were made by the kidnapper? Is it the unidentified prints from the ladder; perhaps the one from the area on the ladder where only the builder could have left it or the few unidentified prints from a ransom note. Are these prints considered the prints of the kidnapper? Michael, if you can comment about this, have you ever seen such a report by the FBI saying they were in possession of the fingerprints of the kidnapper or is Bryan just interpreting the document that way? Bryan seemed to give the document great significance. youtu.be/zqc0qbKBzHwHi, Amy. I had two years of high school Spanish, and didn't understand a word they said. However, I enjoyed the video. I believe Bryan was totally convinced Hauptmann was innocent. I noticed a man standing next to Anna in one segment. He was holding a little girl, I think. I'm wondering if it might have been Mannfred.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2018 11:08:15 GMT -5
Hi, Amy. I had two years of high school Spanish, and didn't understand a word they said. However, I enjoyed the video. I believe Bryan was totally convinced Hauptmann was innocent. I noticed a man standing next to Anna in one segment. He was holding a little girl, I think. I'm wondering if it might have been Mannfred. I looked at the video again. This man and child appear at 8:20. I admit I did not pay attention to this when I watched it. I have never found (yet) an adult picture of Manfred Hauptmann to compare that segment against. From the little I know about Manfred, it is my understanding that Manfred shunned involvement regarding this case. Sometime after the lawsuit involving Manfred's injuries from being struck by a car while playing outside his Bronx home in May of 1938 and finally settling the case in July of 1940, Anna and Manfred moved to Pennsylvania. They both remained there, Anna dying in 1994. Manfred did marry. As far as I know he is still alive. I am not aware of any children from this union.
|
|
|
Post by rebekah on Feb 28, 2018 20:01:01 GMT -5
Hi, Amy. I had two years of high school Spanish, and didn't understand a word they said. However, I enjoyed the video. I believe Bryan was totally convinced Hauptmann was innocent. I noticed a man standing next to Anna in one segment. He was holding a little girl, I think. I'm wondering if it might have been Mannfred. I looked at the video again. This man and child appear at 8:20. I admit I did not pay attention to this when I watched it. I have never found (yet) an adult picture of Manfred Hauptmann to compare that segment against. From the little I know about Manfred, it is my understanding that Manfred shunned involvement regarding this case. Sometime after the lawsuit involving Manfred's injuries from being struck by a car while playing outside his Bronx home in May of 1938 and finally settling the case in July of 1940, Anna and Manfred moved to Pennsylvania. They both remained there, Anna dying in 1994. Manfred did marry. As far as I know he is still alive. I am not aware of any children from this union. I can understand Mannfred's position. I feel sorry for him, and respect his wishes. It must have been awful to grow up hoping that people would not make the connection. Still, it would not surprise me if he stood by his mother during this particular time in her life. She was so tiny at the end. So sad for her and her son.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2018 9:49:50 GMT -5
It must have been awful to grow up hoping that people would not make the connection. This is a sentiment that was felt by others back then and also today. Here is small article that appeared in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle in 1945. This woman recognized the difficulty that Manfred would encounter in his life and wanted in her own way to help him.
|
|
|
Post by rebekah on Mar 1, 2018 19:43:05 GMT -5
It must have been awful to grow up hoping that people would not make the connection. This is a sentiment that was felt by others back then and also today. Here is small article that appeared in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle in 1945. This woman recognized the difficulty that Manfred would encounter in his life and wanted in her own way to help him. What a nice thing to do.
|
|
|
Post by hurtelable on Mar 7, 2018 18:12:19 GMT -5
No, Manfried is deceased. He died in Michigan (suburban Detroit) a few years ago. He was in his early 80s. (I recall posting this on another thread some months ago.)
|
|
|
Post by trojanusc on Mar 7, 2018 18:43:09 GMT -5
No, Manfried is deceased. He died in Michigan (suburban Detroit) a few years ago. He was in his early 80s. (I recall posting this on another thread some months ago.) I believe that was the incorrect Manfred. About the same age, though.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2018 19:25:16 GMT -5
No, Manfried is deceased. He died in Michigan (suburban Detroit) a few years ago. He was in his early 80s. (I recall posting this on another thread some months ago.) The Michigan Manfred Hauptmann is not Richard and Anna's son. The Michigan Manfred you are referring to was born Oct 3, 1933 and died January 2, 2016. Here is the Find a Grave link for the Michigan Manfred Hauptmann. www.findagrave.com/memorial/158939201Richard and Anna's son Manfred, still resides in Pennsylvania with his wife.
|
|
|
Post by hurtelable on Mar 7, 2018 20:21:53 GMT -5
My sincerest apologies for that error. You are correct. Richard Hauptmann's son's name was also Manfred Hauptmann, although some sources refer to him as "Manfried." And the man who died in Michigan was born in Germany, in contrast to what we know about Richard's son. But same year of birth, 1933.
BTW, Robert Zorn visited Manfred at his home in PA c. 2011 to try to get some info on him for his book "Cemetery John." Manfred didn't give Zorn much cooperation.
Seems hard to believe that there were more than one "Manfred Hauptmann" living in the US and born in the same year, but I guess that's the case.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2020 14:35:35 GMT -5
I have always believed, whether or not Hauptmann actually penned out the ransom notes - that he was probably dictated to and/or told what to write as he did so. I thought I would post this blog entry that I recently came across. I think it is important when looking at these ransom notes to give consideration to what this woman says. Were the ransom notes really written by a German person or is this writing actually disguised writing by someone whose primary language was not German? morbidlinguist.blogspot.com/2019/07/native-language-analysis-for-german.html
|
|
metje
Detective
Posts: 174
|
Post by metje on Jun 25, 2020 18:57:25 GMT -5
While I am not an expert in handwriting analysis, as a professor in the Humanities I was expert in language, sentence constructions, and diction. There are two diction levels in the ransom notes, indicating that more than one individual is involved. While many simple words are misspelled and the writer had a problem with suffixes, there are word choices on a different level that are spelled correctly and are used in their proper context. There are twelve examples of the latter that I found in the ransom notes: indication, consequences, appointment, necessary, arrangements, information, hazardous, circumstances, responsible, communicate, instruction, confer. These words were most likely dictated to the writer and spelled for him while the simple words were not spelled out. The level of diction indicates that the person dictating knew the English language well, was educated, and familiar with the use of these words (their meanings) -- indicating that this individual lived a life style and had a vocation quite different from that of a semi-literate German immigrant who was performing the actual task of writing. The handwriting may be disguised (I am not arguing that), but the individual dictating knew that the handwriting very likely would be carefully scrutinized and evaluated for authorship. He did not want to take any chances himself of being exposed and so left the writing to someone else.
|
|
|
Post by xjd on Jun 25, 2020 19:00:40 GMT -5
nice find, Amy! i have always thought the notes sounded like someone imitating a German-born speaker.
|
|
|
Post by hurtelable on Jun 26, 2020 8:10:17 GMT -5
This is an excellent question posed by the forensic language analysis. One possible suspect with the background to confound such a modern-day specialist in such a fashion would have been Jacob Nosovitsky.
|
|