Unlocking History number (UH#)

UH0051



Original

Hate Mail?: A Diamond-shaped letter in the Brienne Postal Archive, Europe (1690–1711)



Model and research notes

MIT Libraries, Unlocking History Research Group archive, MC0760, Box 21–24.



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

LUV051 https://youtu.be/_9wP8TcuYhU 



Instructional video info transcription

Forthcoming



Letterlocking Category number (LC #)

LC06L



Letterlocking Format number (LF #)

4SD 



Security score

Low



Assessment of Confidence in assigning LC#

Attested



Substrate

Paper



Dimensions

Forthcoming

Opened (in mm):      H: 312mm x W: 227mm        

Letterpacket (in mm): H:   80mm x W:   81mm



Manifestation

Opened



Distinctive letterlocking style(s)

Brienne diamond 

Tuck-and-seal



Locking mechanism

Tuck



Security enhancements

Authenticated exposed seal 



Letterlocking category formula (shorthand)

LC6 

Fold + Tuck + Adhere 

(F + T + A)



Letterlocking manipulation sequence (shorthand)

F + F + F + F + F + F + F + F + F + T + A



Locking instructions

Short-edge to short-edge fold, tandem edge fold, flip horizontal, (double) corner fold, corner fold, catch fold, flip horizontal, fold, fold, diagonal fold, tuck, diagonal fold, tuck, adhere.



Images 

Harvard Dataverse       

View: NL-HaMuscom_00046_DB-0833_01.tif

View: NL-HaMuscom_00046_DB-0833_02.tif

Download: https://dataverse.harvard.edu/api/access/datafile/4180250  

Download: https://dataverse.harvard.edu/api/access/datafile/4180264 



Foldable(s)

Forthcoming



Step-by-steps 

Forthcoming



Substrate map

Forthcoming



Virtual unfolding results

Forthcoming



Manipulations

Forthcoming

Writing: Margin folds

Postal: Postage marks

Opening: Tears

Filing (Storage, Display): NA

Repair: NA



Damage

Tears



Features

Dirt on panels/ in crease

Radiating wrinkles

Wrinkles



Article(s)

2021. Unlocking history through automated virtual unfolding of sealed documents imaged by X-ray microtomography 



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)

UH0051

Original 

Unknown to Monsieur Suijthoff, France (ca. 1689–1706). Brienne Collection, Sound & Vision The Hague, DB-0833.

Model

MIT Libraries, Unlocking History Research Group archive, MC0760, Box 21–24.



Video

LUV051

Jana Dambrogio, Signed, Sealed, and Undelivered team, and the Unlocking History Research, “Hate Mail?: A diamond-shaped letter.” Letterlocking Instructional Videos. Unlocking History number 0051/Letterlocking Unique Video number: 0051. Filmed: December 2015. Duration: 2:55. Posted: April 2016. URL: https://youtu.be/_9wP8TcuYhU. Accessed: March 4, 2025.






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