Unlocking History number (UH#)
UH0004
Original
Tomaso di Levrieri to the most Reverend [issi] mo Priore Padre Ludovicho: Triangle lock with slit parallel to the fore-edge (August 13, 1591). Vatican Apostolic Archive, Fondo Veneto II, Container 670, folder 2.
Model and research notes
MIT Libraries, Unlocking History Research Group archive, MC0760, Box 15.
Instructional video(s)
LUV004 https://youtu.be/32_JDoi5HGY; http://bit.ly/TriangleLock
LUV105 https://youtu.be/Ve48gO0ZzaU (begin at minute 7:35)
Instructional video info transcription
Forthcoming
Letterlocking Category number (LC #)
LC23H
Letterlocking Format number (LF #)
4RW
Security score
High
Assessment of Confidence in assigning LC#
Attested
Substrate
Paper
Dimensions
Opened (in mm): 315mm x 212mm
Letterpacket (in mm): 81mm x 105mm x 13"
Manifestation
Opened
Distinctive letterlocking style(s)
Triangle lock SU
Locking mechanism
Lock
Security enhancements
Matching ink color
Matching handwriting
Matching lock with paper from which it was cut
Text across lock and address panel
Letterlocking category formula (shorthand)
Fold + slit/hole + lock-SU + adhere
(F + S/H +LSU + A)
Letterlocking manipulation sequence (shorthand)
Fold + fold + fold + fold +fold + slit + lock-SU + adhere
Locking instructions
Cut off triangle lock-SU. Set aside lock-SU. Fold short-edge to short-edge fold. Open. Fold short-edge closed gatefold. Fold short-edge to short-edge fold. Slit through all panels of the letterpacket. Lace tip of triangle lock-SU through slit. Shape lock tip. Apply adhesive. Wrap lock around accessible edges. Impress pinpricks through a covered seal. Flip packet. Write address.
Images
Forthcoming
Foldable(s)
Forthcoming
Step-by-steps
Forthcoming
Substrate map
Forthcoming
Virtual unfolding results
NA
Manipulations
Writing: NA
Postal: NA
Opening: NA, Tears
Filing (Storage, Display): NA
Repair: NA
Damage
Tears
Features
Article(s)
2023. Daniel Starza Smith & Jana Dambrogio. Letterlocking: securing correspondence before envelopes in Routledge Encyclopedia of the Renaissance World. Lauren Shohet, subject editor.
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)
UH0004
Original
Tomaso di Levrieri to Priore Padre Ludovicho (August 13, 1591). Vatican Apostolic Archive, Fondo Veneto II, Container 670, folder 2.
Model
MIT Libraries, Unlocking History Research Group archive, MC0760, Box 15.
Videos
LUV004
Jana Dambrogio and the Unlocking History Research Group, “Triangle lock with slit parallel to the fore-edge, Europe and England (1560s-1700s).” Letterlocking Instructional Videos. Unlocking History number 0004/Letterlocking Unique Video number: 004. Filmed: June 2014. Duration: 2:38. Posted: June 2014. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32_JDoi5HGY&t=19s. Accessed: March 4, 2025.
LUV105
Jana Dambrogio and the Unlocking History Research Group. Title: “Locked letters and other documents in a gathered and tied binding, Italy (1570s-1650s).” Filmed: October 2016. Posted: October 2016. Duration: 7:35–12:00 out of 13:04. URL: https://youtu.be/Ve48gO0ZzaU. Accessed: March 4, 2025.