Unlocking History number (UH#)

UH0174



Original

John Donne to Sir Edward Herbert (23 January 1615)



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

LUV0174: https://youtu.be/j3NcsTWxBT4         



Instructional video info transcription

Forthcoming



Letterlocking Category number (LC #)

LC06L    




Letterlocking Format number (LF #)

4RT 



Security score

Low



Assessment of Confidence in assigning LC#

Attested



Substrate

Paper



Dimensions

Opened (in mm):     H: 205mm x W: 160mm

Letterpacket (in mm): H: 88mm x W: 65mm         



Manifestation

Opened



Distinctive letterlocking style(s)

Tuck-and-seal



Locking mechanism

Tuck



Security enhancements

N/A



Letterlocking category formula (shorthand)

LC6 

Fold + Tuck + Adhere 

(F + T + A)



Letterlocking manipulation sequence (shorthand)

Fold + fold + fold + fold +fold + tuck + + adhere



Locking instructions

  • Bifolium Fold short-edge to short-edge fold. Keep folded. 

  • Fold short-edge closed gatefold.

  • C- fold. Left and right edges towards the center, creating two closure flaps. Keep folded. 

  • Create a pocket by expanding the right closure flap so the outer panel is on one side of the pocket and the remaining panels are on the other. Keep the pocket expanded.

  • Tuck the left closure flap into the right pocket and flatten the pocket. 

  • Apply adhesive under the closure flap and over the outer panel of the closure flap and closure panel. 

  • Impress seal-stamp. 

  • Flip packet. Write address.


Images 

Forthcoming



Foldable(s)

Forthcoming



Step-by-steps 

Forthcoming



Substrate map

Forthcoming



Virtual unfolding results

NA



Manipulations

Writing: Margin folds

Postal: NA

Opening: Tears, Seal tears 

Filing (Storage, Display): NA

Repair: Mends, Linings, Inserts


Damage

Tears

Water stains and tidelines




Features

Dirt on panels/ in crease

Radiating wrinkles

Seal impression adjacency

Wrinkles



Article(s)



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)

UH0174

Original 

John Donne to Sir Edward Herbert (23 January 1615), The National Archives, Kew, PRO 30/53/7/8, fol. 15.




Model

MIT Libraries, Unlocking History Research Group archive, MC0760, Box 17.



Video

UH0174 (LUV174)

Original: John Donne to Sir Edward Herbert (January 23, 1615). The National Archives, Kew, PRO 30/53/7/8, fol. 15.

Authors: Jana Dambrogio, Daniel Starza Smith, Dennis Flynn, and the Unlocking History Research Group, “Letterlocking: John Donne’s letter to Sir Edward Herbert, England (1615),” Letterlocking Instructional Videos. Unlocking History number 0174/Letterlocking Unique Video number: 0174. Filmed: November 2017. Duration: 4:10. URL: https://youtu.be/j3NcsTWxBT4. Accessed: March 28, 2025.  



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