Unlocking History number (UH#)
UH0027
Original
The John Donne lock
Model and research notes
MIT Libraries, Unlocking History Research Group archive, MC0760, Box 17.
Letterlocking Unique Video number(s) (LUV #s) & Instructional video(s) URL
LUV027 https://youtu.be/n-_5NlvZkq8
Instructional video info transcription
Forthcoming
Letterlocking Category number (LC #)
LC15L
Letterlocking Format number (LF #)
4RW
Security score
Low
Assessment of Confidence in assigning LC#
Attested
Substrate
Paper
Dimensions
Opened (in mm): H: 295mm x W: 202mm
Letterpacket (in mm): H: 75mm x W: 102mm
Manifestation
Opened
Distinctive letterlocking style(s)
Done-in-one lock
Locking mechanism
Lock
Security enhancements
Authenticated oculus lock
Letterlocking category formula (shorthand)
LC15
Fold + Slit/Hole + Adhere + Lock-O
(F + S/H + A + LO)
Letterlocking manipulation sequence (shorthand)
Forthcoming
Locking instructions
Forthcoming
Images
Foldable(s)
Forthcoming
Step-by-steps
Forthcoming
Substrate map
Forthcoming
Virtual unfolding results
NA
Manipulations
Writing: Margin folds, Virgule
Postal: NA
Opening: Tears
Filing (Storage, Display): NA
Repair: Mends
Damage
NA
Features
Dirt on panels/ in crease
Wrinkles
Transcription
https://emmo.folger.edu/view/Lb534/semidiplomatic
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)
Original
John Donne to Sir Thomas Egerton (February 12, 1602). Folger Shakespeare Library, L.b. 528.
Model
MIT Libraries, Unlocking History Research Group archive, MC0760, Box 17.
Video
LUV027
Jana Dambrogio, Daniel Starza Smith, and the Unlocking History Research Group, “The John Donne lock, England (1601/1602).” Letterlocking Instructional Videos. Unlocking History number 0027/Letterlocking Unique Video number: 027. Filmed: February 2015. Duration: 4:05. Posted: April 2015. URL: https://youtu.be/n-_5NlvZkq8. Accessed: March 4, 2025.