Unlocking History number (UH#)
UH0031
Original
John Donne's pleated letter to Sir Robert Harley, England (7 April 1613)
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
LUV 031 http://youtu.be/vHY0p1Lej10 alt ending
LUV 093 https://youtu.be/q48UYTLfeec
Instructional video info transcription
Forthcoming]
Letterlocking Category number (LC #)
LC13L
Letterlocking Format number (LF #)
4RXW
Security score
Low
Assessment of Confidence in assigning LC#
Attested
Substrate
Paper
Dimensions
Forthcoming
Opened (in mm): H: 227mm x W: 170mm
Letterpacket (in mm): H: 30mm x W: 87mm
Manifestation
Opened
Distinctive letterlocking style(s)
Pleated letter
Locking mechanism
Lock
Security enhancements
Authenticated exposed seals
Letterlocking category formula (shorthand)
LC13
Fold + Adhere + Lock-O
(F + A + LO)
Letterlocking manipulation sequence (shorthand)
LUV 031: Fold + fold + fold + fold +fold + fold + lock-O + adhere
LUV 098: Fold + fold + fold + fold + fold + fold + fold + fold + fold + fold + fold + fold + lock-O + adhere
Locking instructions
LUV 030: Forthcoming
LUV 093:Forthcoming
Images
Forthcoming
Foldable(s)
Forthcoming
Step-by-steps
Forthcoming
Substrate map
Forthcoming
Virtual unfolding results
NA
Manipulations
Writing: Margin fold 30mm from left on recto
Postal: NA
Opening: Cut threads
Filing (Storage, Display): Seal impression adjacency, adhered to flange in letterbook
Repair: Mend and insert. Grey-green thread stuck down with glue
Damage
The verso has two horizontal green lines on it, perhaps some kind of glue? This seems to have happened to the letter after conservation, as it crosses paper that has been added to reinforce the letter.
Features
Forthcoming
Dirt on panels/ in crease
Radiating wrinkles
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)
UH0031
Original
John Donne to Sir Robert Harley (April 7, 1613). British Library, Add. MS 70001, fol. 124r–v.
Model
MIT Libraries, Unlocking History Research Group archive, MC0760, Box 17.
Video
LUV031
Jana Dambrogio, Daniel Starza Smith, and the Unlocking History Research Group, "John Donne's pleated letter to Sir Robert Harley, England, alt ending (1613)," Letterlocking Instructional Videos. Unlocking History number 0031/Letterlocking Unique Video number: 031. Filmed: February 2015. Duration: 3:46. Posted: September 2016. URL: https://youtu.be/vHY0p1Lej10. Accessed: March 4, 2025.
LUV093
Jana Dambrogio, Daniel Starza Smith, and the Unlocking History Research Group, "John Donne's pleated letter to Sir Robert Harley, England (1613)," Letterlocking Instructional Videos. Unlocking History number 0031/Letterlocking Unique Video number: 093. Filmed: October 2016. Duration: 4:38. Posted: January 4, 2025. URL: https://youtu.be/q48UYTLfeec. Accessed: March 4, 2025.