Unlocking History Number (UH#)
UH0017
Original
Yo El Rey, two-piece lock: paper band and shaped-covered seal (1732)
Model and research notes
MIT Libraries, Unlocking History Research Group archive, MC0760, Box 26.
Letterlocking Unique Video Number(s) (LUV #s) & Instructional video(s) URL
LUV017 [link to video URL here]
Instructional video info transcription
Forthcoming
Letterlocking category Number (LC #)
LC15L or LC16L
Letterlocking format Number (LF #)
4RW
Security score
Low
Assessment of Confidence in assigning LC#
Inferred
Substrate
Paper
Dimensions
Forthcoming
Opened (in mm):
Letterpacket (in mm): 75mm x 98mm
Manifestation
Opened
Distinctive letterlocking style(s)
Brienne diamond
Dagger-trap
Done-in-one
Hybrid lock
Fold-and-send stationery
Kirifu
Nonagon
Pleated letter
Rectangle inside
Removable lock
Russian triangle
Triangle inside
Triangle lock
Tuck-and-seal
Locking Mechanism
Closure flap, Lock, Hybrid-lock, Tuck
Security enhancements
Forthcoming
Authentication
Codes and ciphers
Cross-hatching
Fake security
Hatching
Matching ink color
Matching handwriting
Matching lock with paper from which it was cut
Steganography
Textual additions
Text across lock and address panel
Letterlocking category formula (shorthand)
LC15
Fold + Slit/Hole + Adhere + Lock-O
(F + S/H + A + LO)
Or
LC16
Fold + Tuck + Slit/Hole + Adhere + Lock-O
(F + T + S/H + A + LO)
Letterlocking manipulation sequence (shorthand)
Forthcoming
Locking instructions
Forthcoming
Images
Forthcoming
Images: View: address side; reverse side
Images: Download: address side; reverse side
Foldable(s)
Forthcoming
Step-by-steps
Forthcoming
Substrate map
Forthcoming
Virtual unfolding results
NA
Manipulations
Writing: NA, Margin folds
Postal: NA
Opening: Tears
Filing (Storage, Display): Sewing holes
Repair: NA
Damage
Forthcoming
Tears
Ink Corrosion
Wormholes
Features
Dirt on panels/ in crease
Radiating wrinkles
Seal impression adjacency
Wrinkles
Article(s)
NA
Book
Jana Dambrogio, Daniel Starza Smith, and the Unlocking History Research Group. Letterlocking, The Hidden History of the Letter. Cambridge and London: MIT Press, 2025.
Citation for the letter(s)
Original
King of Spain to the Duke of Sora (June 18, 1732). Boncompagni Ludovisi Archive (Villa Aurora), Rome.
Model
MIT Libraries, Unlocking History Research Group archive, MC0760, Box 26
Video
LUV017
Jana Dambrogio and the Unlocking History Research Group, “Yo El Rey, two-piece lock: paper band and shaped-covered seal, Spain (1732),” Letterlocking Instructional Videos. Unlocking History number 0017/Letterlocking Unique Video number: 017. Filmed: June 2014. Duration: 4:22. Posted: June 2014. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KAt7Y0KJNo. Accessed: March 4, 2025.