Unlocking History number (UH#)
UH0023
Original
Constantijn Huygens to Amalia von Solms
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
LUV023 https://youtu.be/PePWd-h679c
Instructional video info transcription
Forthcoming
Letterlocking Category number (LC #)
LC13L
Letterlocking Format number (LF #)
4RW
Security score
Low
Assessment of Confidence in assigning LC#
Attested
Substrate
Paper
Dimensions
Opened (in mm): H: 45mm x W: 50mm
Letterpacket (in mm): 5mm x 15mm
Manifestation
Opened
Distinctive letterlocking style(s)
Pleated letter
Tiny letterpackets
Locking mechanism
Lock
Security enhancements
Authenticated exposed seals
Letterlocking category formula (shorthand)
LC13
Fold + Adhere + Lock-O
(F + A + LO)
Letterlocking manipulation sequence (shorthand)
Fold + fold + fold + fold + fold + fold + fold + fold + fold + fold + Lock-O + Adhere
Locking instructions
Forthcoming
Images
https://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/briefwisselingconstantijnhuygens/brief/nr/1166
Transcription
To view details including transcription and images of the original letter, visit the Huygens Institute webpages: Briefwisseling van Constantijn Huygens 1607-1687.
Translation
Foldable(s)
Forthcoming
Step-by-steps
Forthcoming
Substrate map
Forthcoming
Virtual unfolding results
NA
Manipulations
Writing: NA
Postal: NA
Opening: Cut locks
Filing (Storage, Display): Substrate adhered along top edge of address side into a letterbook
Repair: NA
Damage
NA
Features
Dirt on panels/ in crease
Radiating wrinkles
Article(s)
2023. Daniel Starza Smith & Jana Dambrogio. Letterlocking: securing correspondence before envelopes in Routledge Encyclopedia of the Renaissance World. Lauren Shohet, subject editor.
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)
UH0023
Original
Constantijn Huygens to Amalia von Solms (July 9, 1635), The Royal Collections of the Netherlands (Koninklijke Verzamelingen), Archive Amalia von Solms, A14a-IIIc-1.
Model
MIT Libraries, Unlocking History Research Group archive, MC0760, Box 26.
Video
LUV023
Jana Dambrogio, Nadine Akkerman, and the Unlocking History Research Group, UHRG “Tiny spy letter: Constantijn Huygens to Amalia von Solms, Neer (1635).” Letterlocking Instructional Videos. Unlocking History number 0023/Letterlocking Unique Video number: 023. Filmed: September 2014. Duration: 4:43. Posted: November 2014. URL: https://youtu.be/PePWd-h679c&t=3s. Accessed: March 4, 2025.