A letter believed to have been sent to police by Jack the Ripper warning of two murders has sold for more than £20,000 at auction.
The hand-written card arrived at Ealing Police Station on October 29, 1888, just 11 days before the serial killer’s last suspected victim Mary Kelly was disemboweled.
A private collector won a bidding war with an American for the rare letter, "the likes of which have never come up for sale before", Jonathan Riley, of Grand Auctions Ltd, in Folkestone, Kent, said.
The letter went for £22,000 at auction, but the final price will be closer to £30,000 once an auction premium is paid, Mr Riley said, adding the sale shows "how much interest in the Ripper there still is".
On the card, the author warns "I mean to have them my knife is still in good order".
The missive, which had a pre-sale estimate of £600 to £900, states: "Beware there is two women I want here they are b*******, and I mean to have them my knife is still in good order it is a students knife and I hope you liked the kidney. I am Jack the Ripper."
It once belonged to a Metropolitan Police constable who was given it as a memento when he retired from the force in 1966. It is being sold by his widow.
Mr Riley said: "He happened to be in the right place at the right time, he was retiring, and took it and stuck it in a drawer for 30-odd years ... I'm incredibly happy [for the price] and so is the vendor."
The auctioneers state: "The most unusual aspect of our card is its rarity. No such card with police provenance has been offered for sale at auction.
"The great beauty of the card is that with its police provenance it is a unique Ripper item for sale, and no one can prove it is the Ripper himself, but equally no one can prove it is not."
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