.... A SPECIAL PURPOSE BOOK....
Just what is a 'Special Purpose Book'? The simple answer is that this book, widely known as the Boxall Rubaiyat, was made specifically for its purpose and its purpose in this case was to be used as a training aid for those engaged in the business of espionage.
A big statement? Yes, you could say that. But is there any evidence to back it up? And again the answer is 'yes' and you're actually looking at it.
Before the Stuart Littlemore interview, an image of this page from the book showed that the name 'JESTYN' was covered over with a piece of paper and some sticky taoe to hold that paper in place.
At some time after the interview, Alf or someone else removed that paper, and in the process, they tore away a layer from the paper of that page. You can see it quite clearly as outlined in orange.
That can only mean that the paper of the pages in the book was coated, in fact, the core paper had a minute pattern printed on it, if you look closely you will see markings inside the marked area. That pattern got there from special rollers over which the paper was processed and which left those marks. The next step in the process is to apply the coating. This was made from either a wax or an adhesive of some kind. It provided a degree of water resistance and added strength/ toughness to the pages.
The paper was in fact what is known today as a 'security' paper. In the war years, it was used extensively for in-the-field message pads, carrier pigeon notes, etc. It had an added benefit in that the background 'water markings' served to obscure to an extent any hidden writings or indentations on the paper.
As far as I can ascertain, security paper was not used for normal book production during WW2. As it happens, I have a copy of the same edition of the Rubaiyat, and the paper is definitely not coated. Coated paper is smoother and less porous, not necessarily glossy, my copy is quite rough due I think to the significant paper shortages in the war years.
Here's an unmarked version of the Jestyn signature shown at the head of this post:
Good post, I followed up on the kinds of paper used in WW2 and the sources confirmed that plain old paper not coated paper was used for paper backs and small hard back books. The coated version was for glossy magazines of which there weren't that many in the war years.
ReplyDeleteCorrect, paper shortages were a big issue so they had to make do with whatever paper stock they could find, didn't you post a video on that a few weeks ago?
ReplyDeleteHere's an interesting link, it's to The Australian Womens Weekly and its dated November 6th 1948. Apart from noticing that the magazine in those days wasn't glossy but very plain paper, there are some very interesting articles including one on the Oksana Kasenkina case, followers of this blog will know that this case very probably involved Fedosimov just prior to his boarding the POBEDA. I opted to post the link here because it would not be surprising to suggest that Jestyn would have read it. It's the other articles that might just ring a few bells though including the Cliffside Case..
ReplyDeletehttps://archive.org/details/The_Australian_Womens_Weekly_06_11_1948/page/n11/mode/2up
An update on the inquest. Last year the Coroner published 26 findings. This year to date he has published 4 findings which, given the Christmas break is probably about the mark. Of course much depends on the individual cases and complexities.
ReplyDeleteI was reading an article stating that during the Revolutionary war in the States, the spies would use the Culper spy book to send messages back and fourth to George Washington and his headquarters, the spy ring goes very deep,Makes me think which country or organization the SM was working for? To quote the book “ Informants used fake names and a numerical code book consisting of seven hundred and sixty-three numbers representing words, names, and places to communicate their information. Developed by Tallmadge, the Culper Code Book was essential in protecting the vital communications and identities of this important intelligence gathering group. I’ve been also told that many Spy Rings would name their unit after Books,Animals,Etc.
ReplyDeleteExcellent historical information, have read much on this and associated methods and techniques. Some were basic such as washing on a clothes line, some more sophisticated using invisible inks a one interesting case where thin strips of paper with tiny writing were inserted into Quill pens. I will dig out a link that you may have already seen, it’s to a university that has quite a collection.
ReplyDeleteTo date I have positively identified the Nihilist cipher, a MORBIT cipher and possibly a Hill cipher but not quite sure about that. Finding codes is the biggest step forward followed by the huge task of trying to crack them. Again some progress made and hopeful of more in the near future.Thanks for your commen, please keep sending your ideas in, their very welcome.
And from deep in the archives comes a prime example of a hidden code that involved lemon juice and pinpricks:
ReplyDeletehttps://aria.law.columbia.edu/issues/23-2/the-explosion-and-the-testimony-the-wwi-sabotage-claims-and-an-international-arbitral-tribunals-powers-to-revise-its-own-awards-vol-23-no-2/
Hmm, wonder if there are any complimentary tickets..:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.broadwayworld.com/scotland/article/Review-TAMM-SHUD-Oran-Mor-Glasgow-20240402