Unlocking History number (UH#)

UH0051


Original

Hate Mail?: A Diamond-shaped letter in the Brienne Postal Archive, Europe (1690–1711)


Model and research notes

MIT Libraries, Unlocking History Research Group archive, MC0760, Box 21–24.


Letterlocking Unique Video number(s) (LUV #s) & Instructional video(s) URL

LUV051 https://youtu.be/_9wP8TcuYhU 


Instructional video info transcription

Forthcoming


Letterlocking Category number (LC #)

LC06L


Letterlocking Format number (LF #)

4SD 


Security score

Low


Assessment of Confidence in assigning LC#

Attested


Substrate

Paper


Dimensions

Forthcoming

Opened (in mm):      H: 312mm x W: 227mm        

Letterpacket (in mm): H:   80mm x W:   81mm


Manifestation

Opened


Distinctive letterlocking style(s)

Brienne diamond 

Tuck-and-seal


Locking mechanism

Tuck


Security enhancements

Authenticated exposed seal 


Letterlocking category formula (shorthand)

LC6 

Fold + Tuck + Adhere 

(F + T + A)


Letterlocking manipulation sequence (shorthand)

F + F + F + F + F + F + F + F + F + T + A


Locking instructions

Short-edge to short-edge fold, tandem edge fold, flip horizontal, (double) corner fold, corner fold, catch fold, flip horizontal, fold, fold, diagonal fold, tuck, diagonal fold, tuck, adhere.


Images 

Harvard Dataverse       

View: NL-HaMuscom_00046_DB-0833_01.tif

View: NL-HaMuscom_00046_DB-0833_02.tif

Download: https://dataverse.harvard.edu/api/access/datafile/4180250  

Download: https://dataverse.harvard.edu/api/access/datafile/4180264 


Foldable(s)

Forthcoming


Step-by-steps 

Forthcoming


Substrate map

Forthcoming


Virtual unfolding results

Forthcoming


Manipulations

Forthcoming

Writing: Margin folds

Postal: Postage marks

Opening: Tears

Filing (Storage, Display): NA

Repair: NA


Damage

Tears


Features

Dirt on panels/ in crease

Radiating wrinkles

Wrinkles


Article(s)

2021. Unlocking history through automated virtual unfolding of sealed documents imaged by X-ray microtomography 


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)

UH0051

Original 

Unknown to Monsieur Suijthoff, France (ca. 1689–1706). Brienne Collection, Sound & Vision The Hague, DB-0833.

Model

MIT Libraries, Unlocking History Research Group archive, MC0760, Box 21–24.


Video

LUV051

Jana Dambrogio, Signed, Sealed, and Undelivered team, and the Unlocking History Research, “Hate Mail?: A diamond-shaped letter.” Letterlocking Instructional Videos. Unlocking History number 0051/Letterlocking Unique Video number: 0051. Filmed: December 2015. Duration: 2:55. Posted: April 2016. URL: https://youtu.be/_9wP8TcuYhU. Accessed: March 4, 2025.




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