Talk:Velvalee Dickinson

Page contents not supported in other languages.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Untitled[edit]

I wonder where this Velvalee Dickinson is today? Any news would be appreciated.--205.68.101.193 16:46, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)bobby

While revising the article, I came across an Italian reference that stated she died in 1980, but said nothing else.--Mitsukai 17:37, 3 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Moved here from article page by --VivaEmilyDavies 03:11, 6 Mar 2005 (UTC) : I believe this was accidentally placed on the article rather than the talk!

Ms. Velvalee Dickinsin [that's how she spelt it on her own letterhead, as shown below] was mentioned on an Antiques Roadshow episode airing on WGTV, channel 8, in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, on from 8:00 to 9:00 PM on January 3rd, 2005.

The doll was wearing a blue dress. It was a "Jumeau". The appraiser for AR mistakenly identified Ms. Dickinsin as a Nazi spy. Apparently, as David Kahn explains on page 520 of _The CodeBreakers_, Ms. Dickinsin was a spy during WWII and worked out of her exclusive Madison Ave. doll shop in New York, New York, USA. The doll was accompanied by a letter, on Dickinsin's letterhead.

David Kahn explains that Dickinsin was, in fact, a spy for the Japanese, and goes into detail about what kind of codes she used, and how she was caught [she used the return address of a woman "with whom she had had a spat"]. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined $10,000.00; she could easily have faced the death penalty.

The method of passing codes was via letters concerning, ostensibly, dolls. It's quite possible that the letter accompanying this doll represents an instance of "jargon code" passed among Dickinsin and her fellow spies. I imagine that, if this proves to be true, the letter may not only further enhance the value of the doll but also prove to be a valuable artifact in its own right, being, as it may well be, a surviving example of World War II espionage materiel. The doll, its dress, or something else about its presentation might have played a part in the meaning of the code, but it's more likely that the letter itself is an example of code.

The book I mention is David Kahn's _The CodeBreakers_, revised edition, ISBN 0-684-83130-9. See page 520 or refer to "Dickinson" [sic] in the index.

I just asked myself the same “where are they now” question and was able to find limited information in the biography on Eunice Kennedy, which I’ve edited onto the end of the article. BreakfastBurrito (talk) 00:36, 8 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Motivation ??[edit]

Does anyone who is already familiar with this person have any idea as to her motivations? Purely for money? Engr105th 06:36, 24 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Clarification[edit]

This sentence "Typewritten letters between Dickinson and the women involved were identified by the FBI as having been used in the "Springfield" letter." seems confusing. Is this describing the typewritten individual characters from the typewriter (letters) are the same? Or that the entire mailed letters between the two were somehow "used" in the springfield letter? The latter is quite ambiguous.72.25.177.218 (talk) 18:33, 24 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

External links modified[edit]

Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Velvalee Dickinson. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

This message was posted before February 2018. After February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. Editors have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the RfC before doing mass systematic removals. This message is updated dynamically through the template {{source check}} (last update: 18 January 2022).

  • If you have discovered URLs which were erroneously considered dead by the bot, you can report them with this tool.
  • If you found an error with any archives or the URLs themselves, you can fix them with this tool.

Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 21:41, 9 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Commons files used on this page or its Wikidata item have been nominated for deletion[edit]

The following Wikimedia Commons files used on this page or its Wikidata item have been nominated for deletion:

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 19:51, 22 January 2020 (UTC)[reply]