Unlocking History Number (UH#)
UH0077
Original
Sir Francis Walsingham’s Triangle-locked Letter Written in Code, England (1587)
Model and research notes
MIT Libraries, Unlocking History Research Group archive, MC0760, Box 16.
Letterlocking Unique Video Number(s) (LUV #s) & Instructional Video(s) URL
LUV077 https://youtu.be/HFbrYa5okjw
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
Forthcoming
Opened (in mm): 310mm x 220mm
Letterpacket (in mm): 80mm x 112mm
Manifestation
Opened
Distinctive letterlocking style(s)
Triangle lock-O
Locking Mechanism
Lock
Security enhancements
Authenticated exposed seal
Codes and ciphers
Fake security
Steganography
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
Forthcoming
Foldable(s)
Forthcoming
Step-by-steps
Forthcoming
Substrate map
Forthcoming
Virtual unfolding results
NA
Manipulations
Writing: NA, Margin folds
Postal: NA
Opening: Tears
Filing (Storage, Display): Sewing holes
Repair: NA
Damage
Losses along the edges
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, Daniel Starza Smith, and the Unlocking History Research Group. Letterlocking, The Hidden History of the Letter. Cambridge and London: MIT Press, 2025.
Citation for the letter(s)
UH0077
Original
Sir Francis Walsingham to William Harborne England (June 24, 1587). University of Oxford, Bodleian Libraries, MS Tanner 79, fols. 127/128.
Model
MIT Libraries, Unlocking History Research Group archive, MC0760, Box 16.
Video
LUV077
Jana Dambrogio and the Unlocking History Research Group, “Sir Francis Walsingham’s Triangle-locked Letter Written in Code, England (1587).” Letterlocking Instructional Videos. Unlocking History number 0077/Letterlocking Unique Video number: 0077. Filmed: September 2016. Duration: 3:36. Posted: October 2016. URL: https://youtu.be/HFbrYa5okjw. Accessed: March 4, 2025.