Unlocking History number (UH#)
UH0040
Original
Ceremonial letter from Bey Mahmud ibn Muhammad to the USA
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
LUV040 https://youtu.be/xzLF5zC0LNE
Instructional video info transcription
Forthcoming
Letterlocking Category number (LC #)
LC16L
Letterlocking Format number (LF #)
4RD
Security score
Low
Assessment of Confidence in assigning LC#
Attested
Substrate
Paper
Dimensions
Opened (in mm): H: 740 mm x W: 373 mm
Letterpacket (in mm): H: 185 mm x W: 127 mm
Kite-shaped lock: H: 480 mm x W: 130 mm at the widest part
Manifestation
Opened
Distinctive letterlocking style(s)
Removable lock-O
Locking mechanism
Lock
Security enhancements
Authentication ink stamp
Letterlocking category formula (shorthand)
LC16
Fold + Tuck + Slit/Hole + Adhere + Lock-O
(F + Tuck + S/H + A + LO)
Letterlocking manipulation sequence (shorthand)
Forthcoming
Locking instructions
Forthcoming
Images
Forthcoming
Recto: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/147969911?objectPage=5 (note this image is upside down)
Verso: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/147969911?objectPage=2
Verso of lock: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/147969911?objectPage=4
Foldable(s)
Forthcoming
Step-by-steps
Forthcoming
Substrate map
Forthcoming
Virtual unfolding results
NA
Manipulations
Writing: Margin folds, tughra
Postal: NA
Opening: Tears
Filing (Storage, Display): Cuts, Folds, Sewing holes, Secretarial notations
Repair: Mends
Damage
Burn/charred paper from sealing wax drip aflame
Tears
Mold stains
Losses
Features
Dirt on panels/ in crease
Radiating wrinkles
Wrinkles
Article(s)
2014. Letterlocking: The Art & Security of Letter writing in Book Arts, Arts du Livre Canada, Vol.5 (2014): 2. 21–23.
Unpublished research. Collaço, Gwendolyn and Jana Dambrogio. Removable locks in Tunisian ceremonial correspondence, 2024.
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)
UH0040
Original
Mahmud ibn Muhammad, Bey of Tunis to President James Madison (September 24, 1817). US National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 59, General Records of the Department of State. Series: Communications from Heads of Foreign States, 1789–1909, National Archives ID 302026. File Unit: Ceremonial Letters from Tunis, ID 5527490. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/5527490, pp. 7–13.
Model
MIT Libraries, Unlocking History Research Group archive, MC0760, Box 26.
Video
LUV040
Jana Dambrogio and the Unlocking History Research Group, “Ceremonial letter with removable lock from Bey Mahmud ibn Muhammad to President James Madison, Tunis (1817).” Letterlocking Instructional Videos. Unlocking History number 0040/Letterlocking Unique Video number: 0040. Filmed: December 2015. Duration: 4:24. Posted: March 2016. https://youtu.be/xzLF5zC0LNE. Accessed March 4, 2025.