UH6180 (letter), UH6179 (envelope), UH6269 (inferred wafer box)
Emily Dickinson wrote and locked a letter to her brother, W. Austin Dickinson, on her 17th birthday. Here's how she did it! Thank you to Houghton Library for allowing us to film this instruction video at Emily Dickinson's desk!
First Line of letter: “I heard today that Mr. Colton”
Unlocking History number (UH#)
UH6180 (letter)
UH6179 (envelope)
UH6269 (inferred wafer box)
Original
Emily Dickinson letter to W. Austin Dickinson.
First Line: “I heard today that Mr. Colton”
Amherst Manuscript # 553
Johnson and Ward Letter #19
Miller and Mitchell Letter #19
Model and research notes
MIT Libraries, Unlocking History Research Group archive, MC0760, Box 04.
Letterlocking Unique Video number(s) (LUV #s) & Instructional video(s) URL
LUV291: https://youtu.be/oPRKdzdKWL4
Instructional video info transcription
Forthcoming
Letterlocking Category number (LC #)
Letter: LC46L
Envelope: Document Security, LC45L
Letterlocking Format number (LF #)
Letter: 4RW
Envelope: 4RW
Security score
Low, both
Assessment of Confidence in assigning LC#
Attested, both
Substrate
Paper, both
Dimensions
Opened (in mm): H: 127 mm tall × W: 203 mm
Letterpacket (in mm): H: 46 mm tall × W: 101 mm
Manifestation
Opened
Distinctive letterlocking style(s)
Hybrid lock
Locked letter in an envelope
Locking mechanism
Letter: Hybrid-lock Tuck/LSA
Envelope: Lock-SA + sticker (adhere + lock-O)
Security enhancements
NA
Letterlocking category formula (shorthand)
LC46L
Fold + Tuck + Adhere + Lock-O + Lock-SA
(F + T + A + LO + LSA)
Letterlocking manipulation sequence (shorthand)
Fold + tuck + lock-SA + lock-O + adhere
Locking instructions
Bifolium fold. Write letter over four pages. Bifolium fold. C-fold short edge-to-short edge top to bottom. Create hybrid locking mechanism: simultaneously tuck and lock-SA. Keep folded. Adhere and Lock-O with a sticker.
Images
University of Amherst Site: https://acdc.amherst.edu/view/EmilyDickinson
Direct Link to Digital Object's IIIF Presentation Manifest V3
Individual images
Foldable(s)
Forthcoming. Available in Jana Dambrogio, Daniel Starza Smith, and the Unlocking History Research Group. Letterlocking, The Hidden History of the Letter. Cambridge and London: MIT Press, 2025.
Step-by-steps
Forthcoming. Available in Jana Dambrogio, Daniel Starza Smith, and the Unlocking History Research Group. Letterlocking, The Hidden History of the Letter. Cambridge and London: MIT Press, 2025.
Substrate map
Forthcoming. Available in Jana Dambrogio, Daniel Starza Smith, and the Unlocking History Research Group. Letterlocking, The Hidden History of the Letter. Cambridge and London: MIT Press, 2025.
Virtual unfolding results
NA
Manipulations
Writing: NA
Postal: NA
Opening: NA
Filing (Storage, Display): NA
Repair: NA
Damage
NA
Features
Dirt on panels/ in crease
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)
UH6179 (envelope) UH6180 (letter) inferred wafer box (6269)
Original
UH6180 (letter), UH6179 (envelope), inferred wafer box (
Emily Dickinson to W. Austin Dickinson (December 11, 1847). Correspondence, Emily Dickinson Collection, Amherst College Archives and Special Collections: Shelf Location, Box 6 Folder 91. Johnson & Ward letter number and Miller and Mitchell letter number are both 19.
(First Line: I heard today that Mr. Colton); Amherst Manuscript # 553; 1 sheet (2 leaves) + 1 envelope.
Model
MIT Libraries, Unlocking History Research Group archive, MC0760, Box 04.
Video
Jana Dambrogio, Daniel Starza Smith, and the Unlocking History Research Group, “‘I watch and I hope for you,’ 17-year-old Emily Dickinson’s hybrid-locked letterpacket to her brother Austin, USA (1847).” Unlocking History number UH6179 (Envelope) UH6180 (letter), inferred wafer box (UH6269) /Letterlocking Unique Video number: LUV 291. Letterlocking Instructional Videos. Filmed: April 9, 2024. Duration: 6:37. Posted: November 19, 2024. Premiered: March 4, 2025. URL: https://youtu.be/oPRKdzdKWL4. Accessed: March 4, 2025.