Unlocking History number (UH#)

UH0028



Original

John Donne's triangle-locked letter to Sir Robert Cotton



Model and research notes

MIT Libraries, Unlocking History Research Group archive, MC0760, Box 17.



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

LUV028 alt ending https://youtu.be/eOAmh95hp5M

LUV029 https://youtu.be/Zq_7WcwS9Yg?si=qYVjRudT4sjGFHKU 



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



Substrate

Paper



Dimensions

Opened (in mm):      H: 295 mm x W: 404 mm

Letterpacket (in mm): H: 75mm   x  W: 102mm



Manifestation

Opened



Distinctive letterlocking style(s)

Triangle Lock-SU

Possible oculus lock

Possible done-in-one lock



Locking mechanism

Lock



Security enhancements

Possible oculus lock      



Letterlocking category formula (shorthand)

LC23 

Fold + Slit/Hole + Adhere + Lock-SU 

(F + S/H + A + LSU)



Letterlocking manipulation sequence (shorthand)



Forthcoming



Locking instructions

Bifolium fold, short-edge to short-edge fold, unfold, gatefold from short edges, short-edge to short-edge fold, slit perpendicular with fore-edge,

oculus lock-O, adhere.



Images 

Forthcoming



Foldable(s)

Forthcoming



Step-by-steps 

Forthcoming



Substrate map

Forthcoming



Virtual unfolding results

NA



Manipulations

Forthcoming

Writing: Vigule

Postal: NA

Opening: Tears 

Filing (Storage, Display): Letter book hinged in, sewing holes

Repair: Mends, triangle cut out insert made bottom two back, gutter slits mended        



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.   



Authors: Jana Dambrogio, Daniel Starza Smith, and the Unlocking History Research Group. Title: ""John Donne's triangle-locked letter to Sir Robert Cotton, alt ending 1, England (c. 1602),"" Letterlocking Instructional Videos. Unlocking History number 0028/Letterlocking Unique Video number: 028. Date filmed: February 2015. Duration: 3:38. Posted: May 2016. Video URL: [Insert URL]. Date accessed: [Date]. 



Citation information

UH0028

Original

John Donne to Sir Robert Cotton, England (February 20, 1602), British Library, Cotton MS Cleopatra F. VII, fols. 293–294.



Model

MIT Libraries, Unlocking History Research Group archive, MC0760, Box 17.



Video

LUV 028 

Jana Dambrogio, Daniel Starza Smith, and the Unlocking History Research Group, “John Donne's triangle-locked letter to Sir Robert Cotton, Alt. Ending 1, England (1602),” Letterlocking Instructional Videos. Unlocking History number 0028/Letterlocking Unique Video number: 028. Filmed: February 2015. Duration: 3:38. Posted: May 2016. URL: https://youtu.be/eOAmh95hp5M. Accessed: March 4, 2025.




LUV 029

Jana Dambrogio, Daniel Starza Smith, and the Unlocking History Research Group, “John Donne’s triangle-locked letter to Sir Robert Cotton, England (1602).” Letterlocking Instructional Videos. Unlocking History number 0029/Letterlocking Unique Video number: 029. Filmed: February 2015. Duration: 3:20. Posted: May 2016. URL: https://youtu.be/Zq_7WcwS9Yg. Accessed March 4, 2025.    






Return to