Unlocking History number (UH#)

UH0001



Original and model and research notes

The first letterlocking video (2005): the triangle paper lock, Italy (1580s).

MIT Libraries, Unlocking History Research Group archive, MC0760, Boxes 1, 31. 



Letterlocking Unique Video number(s) (LUV #s) & Instructional video(s) URL

LUV 001 https://youtu.be/OXG_3LU5tUA   



Instructional video info transcription

Forthcoming



Letterlocking Category number (LC #)

LC23H



Letterlocking Format number (LF #)

4RW  



Security score

High



Assessment of Confidence in assigning LC#

Attested



Dimensions

Opened (in mm): 202mm x 295mm        

Letterpacket (in mm): 57mm x 90mm



Substrate

Paper



Manifestation

Opened



Distinctive letterlocking style(s)

Triangle lock SU



Locking mechanism

Lock



Security enhancements

Text across lock and address panel

Authentication – seal stamp

Matching ink color

Matching handwriting

Matching lock with paper from which it was cut



Letterlocking category formula (shorthand)

Fold + fold + fold + fold +fold + slit + lock-SU + adhere



Locking instructions

Cut off triangle lock-SU. Set aside lock-SU. Fold short-edge to short-edge fold. Open. Fold short-edge closed gatefold. Fold short-edge to short-edge fold. Slit through all panels of the letterpacket. Lace tip of triangle lock-SU through slit. Shape lock tip. Apply adhesive. Wrap lock around accessible edges. Impress seal-stamp. Flip packet. Write address. 



Images 

Forthcoming



Foldable(s)

Forthcoming



Step-by-steps 

Forthcoming



Substrate map

Forthcoming



Virtual unfolding results

NA



Manipulations

Writing: Margin folds

Postal: NA

Opening: Seal tears 

Filing (Storage, Display): Cuts, Folds, Holes

Repair: Mends, Linings, Silking



Damage

Tears

Ink Corrosion

Wormholes



Features

Radiating wrinkles

Seal impression adjacency



Article

Unlocking history through automated virtual unfolding of sealed documents imaged by X-ray microtomography 



Book 

Jana Dambrogio and Daniel Starza Smith with the Unlocking History Research Group. Letterlocking: The Hidden History of the Letter. Cambridge and London: MIT Press, 2025.



Citation for the letter(s)

UH0001

Original and model

Jana Dambrogio, MIT Libraries, Unlocking History Research Group archive, MC0760, Boxes 1, 31. 



Video

LUV001

Jana Dambrogio, “The first letterlocking video USA (2005): the triangle paper lock, Italy (1580s).” Letterlocking Instructional Videos. Filmed: June 2005. Posted: August 2015. Duration: 0:40. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXG_3LU5tUA. Accessed: March 4, 2025.






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