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. 


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