Unlocking History number (UH#)
UH0030
Original
John Donne's tuck-and-seal letter to Sir Nicholas Carew
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
LUV030 https://youtu.be/6b24ITwt3MY
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): 192mm x 143mm
Letterpacket (in mm): 88mm x 65mm
Manifestation
Opened
Distinctive letterlocking style(s)
Tuck-and-seal
Locking mechanism
Tuck
Security enhancements
Authenticated exposed seal
Letterlocking category formula (shorthand)
LC06
Fold +Tuck + Adhere
(F + Tuck + A)
Letterlocking manipulation sequence (shorthand)
Fold + fold + fold + fold +fold + fold + tuck + adhere
Locking instructions
Forthcoming
Images
Forthcoming
Foldable(s)
Forthcoming
Step-by-steps
Forthcoming
Substrate map
Forthcoming
Virtual unfolding results
NA
Manipulations
Writing: NA, Margin folds
Postal: NA
Opening: Seal tears
Filing (Storage, Display): NA, Cuts, Folds, Holes
Repair: NA, Mends, Linings
Damage
Tears
Features
Dirt on panels/ in crease
Radiating wrinkles
Wrinkles
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)
UH0030
Original
John Donne to Sir Nicholas Carew (June 21, 1625). Houghton Library, Harvard University, GEN MS Eng 1290.
Model
MIT Libraries, Unlocking History Research Group archive, MC0760, Box 17.
Video
LUV030
Jana Dambrogio, Daniel Starza Smith, and the Unlocking History Research Group, “John Donne’s tuck-and-seal letter to Sir Nicholas Carew, England (1625).” Letterlocking Instructional Videos. Unlocking History number 0030/Letterlocking Unique Video number: 030. Filmed: February 2015. Posted: September 2016. Duration: 2:40. https://youtu.be/6b24ITwt3MY. Accessed March 4, 2025.