An EBay vendor has listed what is presented as an autographed letter by Elizabeth Short. The undated document is typed with a brief message and what is claimed to be her signature. But is it authentic?

One has to wonder because ElizAbeth is misspelled as ElizEbeth.

In describing the letter, the vendor, VintagePhotosForFans, says: “This comes from an estate sale I attended in California years ago.”  (The vendor has incredibly good luck. They also found a Marilyn Monroe letter at an estate sale in California, an item that is far more suspicious!)

Without examining the physical document, it’s impossible to tell for sure, but there are some red flags about this item:

–The letter is undated, so it’s impossible to tell when or where it was written.

–The letter was supposedly found at an estate sale in California, but it informs the recipient that Elizabeth Short “will be in California next week,” raising questions about why it was found in California and not somewhere else.

–The inscription “Very Sincerely” should be flush right, as Elizabeth Short would have placed it, having taken secretarial classes in high school.

–The signature. Elizabeth Short never used her full name. She usually signed herself as “Bette” or “Beth.” 

–And ElizAbeth is misspelled as ElizEbeth!

I recommend a hard pass on this item.