Unlocking History number (UH#)
UH0127
Original
A rare spiral lock-SA
Model and research notes
MIT Libraries, Unlocking History Research Group archive, MC0760, Box 29.
Letterlocking Unique Video number(s) (LUV #s) & Instructional video(s) URL
LUV127 https://youtu.be/1ZRA8KZrNTQ
Instructional video info transcription
Forthcoming
Letterlocking Category number (LC #)
LC27H
Letterlocking Format number (LF #)
4RXW
Security score
High
Assessment of Confidence in assigning LC#
Attested
Substrate
Paper
Dimensions
Opened (in mm): H: 296.5mm x W: 170mm
Letterpacket (in mm): H: 52 mm x W: 85mm
Manifestation
Refolded
Distinctive letterlocking style(s)
Spiral lock-SA
Locking mechanism
Lock
Security enhancements
Matching lock with paper from which it was cut
Text across lock and address panel
Letterlocking category formula (shorthand)
LC27
Fold + Slit/Hole + Lock-SA
(F + S/H + LSA)
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
Postal: NA
Opening: Small tear
Filing (Storage, Display): Provenance ink stamps
Repair: NA
Damage
Tears
Pressure-sensitive tape and adhesive
Features
Dirt on panels/ in crease
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.
2021. The Spiral-Locked Letters of Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots
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)
UH0127
Original
Unidentified author to the city consuls (December 16, 1638). Musée de La Poste, Paris, Vivarez Collection, MO 6048.
Model
MIT Libraries, Unlocking History Research Group archive, MC0760, Box 29.
Video
LUV127
Jana Dambrogio and the Unlocking History Research Group, “A rare spiral lock, France (December 16, 1638).” Letterlocking Instructional Videos. Unlocking History number 0127/Letterlocking Unique Video number: 0127. Filmed: November 2017. Duration: 5:29. Posted: November 2017. URL: https://youtu.be/1ZRA8KZrNTQ. Accessed October 1, 2023.