...SOMERTON MAN CODE PAGE NEGATIVE IMAGE...
If you recall, I posted this image just a couple of weeks ago, so what's going on now? Something changed or something new discovered?
Yes and Yes again.
In this series of posts, we're going to take a much closer look at the code page from a negative perspective.
For today we'll just be looking at one aspect of this incredible discovery. It stands to have as much impact on the case as the original finding of the microcode on the code page, the torn slip, and the Boxall Rubaiyat. The implications really are far-reaching.
For today we'll just be looking at one aspect of this incredible discovery. It stands to have as much impact on the case as the original finding of the microcode on the code page, the torn slip, and the Boxall Rubaiyat. The implications really are far-reaching.
TREATED CODE PAGE:
This is exactly the same page as shown in the header of the post. The only difference is that it is lighter in appearance thanks to the application of citric acid.
Immediately, a number of amazing hitherto unseen features come to light, but for this post, we will concentrate on the one that pops out as soon as you look at it. That is the 6 sets of 2 parallel lines that are apparent across the page.
What can be said about them? First off they are about central on the page and they run top to bottom as you can see. Within the 6 sets, they are very close to being equidistant. At first glance, I thought that perhaps these lines were caused by the printing machine, and then quickly noticed that the lines lie beneath the letters of the code page and not on top.
These lines are on the page itself but completely invisible to the naked eye when viewed in the normal mode for the code page, i.e. not this negative version. You can also see the shadowy presence of what appear to be letters and numbers in numerous locations but they are not the focus of today's post.
Let's take a closer look at the images below and you might just see that all is not as it seems:
This next image is of the upper part of the same two lines:
That's a bit clearer, it almost looks like writing, but surely not?
And now a highlighted close-up of the same image:
Now move back a little and look inside the highlighted area,
Now what do you see?
I think it is the most extraordinarily clever use of a concealment technique that I have ever seen and I have seen quite a few although not as many as some I can think of one well-known author in the espionage space who is going to be so surprised..
The top part is darker and the lower part is deliberately lighter in appearance and it completely fools the eye. Absolutely brilliant. Once you've seen it, you can't unsee it.
The top part is darker and the lower part is deliberately lighter in appearance and it completely fools the eye. Absolutely brilliant. Once you've seen it, you can't unsee it.
The big question now of course is why did they do that? I have a few ideas number one being that it may be a form of one-time pad with operators selecting strings of 5 key letters to add to a message to send or help crack open a message received.
To add to the cleverness, these lines were not visible until the image is turned negative
To add to the cleverness, these lines were not visible until the image is turned negative
Tags
Code Page
negative image
Somerton Man Code Cracked
Tamam Shud Mystery
unique concealment technique
Actually, the code page is a photo of a 400 DPI scan.
ReplyDeleteIt's apparent that you weren't aware that a good photograph of another photograph or a scan is as good as the original, in fact in these days of AI, it can arguably be better.
The DPI, dots per inch, relates to the print resolution and not the image resolution which is known as PPI or pixels per inch. The original photograph was created on glass plate, it produces a particularly fine image, so much so in fact that many Archaeologists to this day use glass plate photography.
The photograph of the code page was one given to the Advertiser by Police in 1949. The Advertiser, I think in the late 90s, digitised their collection by scanning them at 400 DPI. You may know that those in the printing trade specify their standard as being 300 DPI for printing to ensure good quality output. AT 400 DPI, the Code page is significantly better than that and has a particularly finer quality to it given its origins. I hope this has helped you and if there's anything else that you need to know please drop me a line or comment.
Have a great day :)
To ANNONYMOUS regarding the nature of the negative image above and the presence of parallel line markings. It really isn't as straight forward as it appears and there are a few traps in the process. Let's go through it step by step:
ReplyDelete1. There was copy of the Rubaiyat handed to the Police and they found a series of markings on the back of the book.
2. These markings were indentations, you can read more about indented writing recovery here:
https://www.questioneddocuments.com/indented-writing/#:~:text=Indented%20writing%20is%20normally%20recovered,for%20Electro%2Dstatic%20Detection%20Apparatus.
3. Using their selected method, the Police discovered the presence of indentations which appeared to form the shapes of letters. Detective Brown stated that two telephone numbers were also found on the image of the page and they had been written in 'really tiny lettering'. You can read about that here: https://www.eleceng.adelaide.edu.au/personal/dabbott/wiki/index.php/Leonard_Douglas_Brown
4. Part of the process in recovering the writings was to turn the page negative. That means that the code page photograph that is used in the case was a negative image and then it was photographed.
5. IMPORTANT, note here that indentations under oblique lighting appear white/grey in colour thus when the Police photographed the original a a negative, those indentations turned darker or black.
6. The markings were written over on that negative photograph by the police or some other agency. The key point here is that the image was a negative which was photographed before being marked over
7. The indentations that were photographed were not on the code page itself, that was a separate piece of paper, they were on the book and the book had the indentations impressed from the separate paper. The page of the book would by default have included other indented markings and that is what we see in the image in this post.
8. In my examination of the page, I turned the photograph of the issued image of the code page, negative. This process meant that anything black on that image became white and anything white became black with numerous shades in between.
9. This is where you may apparently have missed a beat. The police overwritten image was a negative marked over and photographed. Anything on that image that was black or dark coloured on original image before it was marked over, became white and other shades. Now focus, the black markings on the image above where, on the original issued image, turned white. hence you would not see them against the background at that stage. Once I turned the image negative, those white markings turned black. I could just make the parallel lines out at this stage and thus decided to use a proven technique of stripping back super thin layers of ink using citric acid. It was that process that revealed the parallel lines in better detail. They were black in colour, that would have been there original colour when first photographed by the Police or whoever it was that did that job at the time.
In conclusion, it's not straightforward as you can see, and it was an easy mistake to make so please don't feel bad about it. f you would like to comment again you would be welcome. If there's any way I can help I am happy to do that.
My background, one time Police officer, involved in numerous high tech start up companies which relied heavily on image handling and electronics, travelled extensively visiting many countries, North America, Central and South America, Europe, Middle East, Far East and of course here in Australia where I have lived for 46 years, and meeting all kinds of people wherever I went. And you?
Nearly forgot. the indentations formed the micro code shapes. Consider this. The indentations were a grey/white colour which when turned negative, became black and visible.
ReplyDeleteNow ask the question why was it necessary to cover them in black ink when they were already black?
A rhetorical question really, the answer is because they showed tiny indentations of letters and numbers and that's been proven here numerous times. The technique of concealing small writing beneath larger letters was described in a British SOE training manual dated 1943, it was known as INK H. You'll find a download of the manual here:
https://tamamshud.blogspot.com/2022/09/somerton-man-code-cracked-soe-codes.html
Ha! Ha!
ReplyDeleteThen this negative is really close to being the original positive image that the Police first took and then they turned it negative to highlight the indentations?
ReplyDeleteWhen you look at it like that then yes, that's what it seems to be. The colour seems a little dark but then again we don't have a copy of the original book, except the front page image of what is said to be of the actual book published by the police in the press in July 49 I think.
ReplyDeleteAs it happens I have another book, pocket edition and a bit raunchy published by Gornall in the 1930s I believe. It's dimensions are very similar to that of the code page image and Courage and Friendship versions of the Rubaiyat as in 11.5 cms X approximately 16 cms it also has a yapped edge. Will organise an image here shortly.
You're looking at a marker pen
ReplyDeleteOnly the coded message itself is of interest
Well actually no, the process used was to first inspect the page under various lighting tools including UV and string overhead lamps as well as on]lique angled lighting. The photographs were taken from different angles as per normal indented writing recovery techniques, in those days the use of electro static equipment was confined mainly to the US, Edgar Hoover once proud;y showed off his special ES machine. That should tell you that indented writing was a common thing that needed investigating often.
ReplyDeleteI believe the first photographs were on Glass Plate, it gives a much more detailed finish than film especially in those days. This necessarily means that the image when first developed was in negative view. According to my source, they may have used a double negative approach to highlight the indentations and have them show up as black against a lighter background. I effectively
reversed that process to get the images we now have on the latest post, here:
https://tamamshud.blogspot.com/2023/10/tamam-shud-mystery-75-year-old-code_11.html
The images on that post are very clear and show the presence of aligned block caps numbers and letters. Every letter and every ink marked item whether that is individual letters or locations on the page was done to conceal the presence of microcode. I have long ago started on the process of recovering the hidden information and this weeks breakthrough in technique will greatly help in that process.
So the marker pen is not at issue, the hidden code always has been.
I suggest that, on viewing the latest post, you may wish to reconsider and update your view.