Unlocking History Number (UH#)

UH6260 

Original

Emily Dickinson To Austin Dickinson, May 1st 1842 (11 years old) roll fold!   

Emily Dickinson's holograph letter to W. Austin Dickinson, Amherst, MA, May 1, 1842. Houghton Library, Harvard University, b MS 1118.4 (54). 

Two edited letter editions. 

Johnson and Ward (1958) 2 or JW2

Miller and Mitchell (2024)  2 or MM2

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

LUV303 https://youtu.be/b2_K29Xqelc 

Instructional video info transcription

Forthcoming

LUV303

Letterlocking category Number (LC #)

LC06L

Letterlocking format Number (LF #)

4RW 

Security score

Low

Assessment of Confidence in assigning LC#

Attested

Substrate

Paper

Dimensions

Opened (in mm):     255mm x 200mm  

Letterpacket (in mm): 83mm x 135mm

Manifestation

Opened

Distinctive letterlocking style(s)

Rectangle inside 

Tuck-and-seal

Locking Mechanism

Tuck

Security enhancements   

 NA

Letterlocking category formula (shorthand)

LC6 

Fold + Tuck + Adhere 

(F + T + A)

Letterlocking manipulation sequence (shorthand)

Forthcoming

Example: Fold + fold + fold + fold +fold + slit + lock-SU + adhere

Locking instructions

Forthcoming

Fold short-edge to short-edge fold. Open. Fold short-edge closed gatefold. Fold short-edge to short-edge fold. Apply adhesive. 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: Tear 

Filing (Storage, Display): NA

Repair: NA

Damage

NA

Features

NA

Article(s)

NA

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)

Original

Emily Dickinson's holograph letter to W. Austin Dickinson, Amherst, MA, May 1, 1842. Houghton Library, Harvard University, b MS 1118.4 (54)

Model

MIT Libraries, Unlocking History Research Group archive, MC0760, Box 04.

Video

Jana Dambrogio, Leslie Morris, Jennifer Pellecchia, and the Unlocking History Research Group. Title: "11-year-old Emily Dickinson's roll-folded locked letter to her brother, USA (May 1, 1842)." Letterlocking Instructional Videos. Unlocking History number 6260/Letterlocking Unique Video number: 303. Filmed: April 9, 2024. Duration: 3:19. Posted: May 1, 2024. URL: https://youtu.be/b2_K29Xqelc. Accessed: [Date].