The rich history of a centuries-old document security technology—folding and securing a letter
into its own envelope for delivery—and a comprehensive guide to learning how to make your own
locked letters. Before the invention of the gummed envelope in the 1830s how did people
secure their private letters? The answer is letterlocking—the ingenious process of securing a
letter using a combination of folds tucks slits or adhesives such as sealing wax so that it
becomes its own envelope. This almost entirely forgotten practice used by historical figures
ranging from Elizabeth I and her spies to Japanese samurai lords was an everyday activity for
centuries across cultures borders and social classes. In Letterlocking Jana Dambrogio and
Daniel Starza Smith experts who have pioneered the field over the last ten years tell the
fascinating story of letterlocking within epistolary history drawing on real historical
examples from all over the world. Fully illustrated with more than 300 images and diagrams
including a dictionary of sixty technical terms and concepts Letterlocking describes the
essential precepts of the practice and provides sources of practical support needed for
beginner and advanced users of letterlocking. The authors also advocate for the understanding
of letterlocking and for its inclusion in a range of intellectual and cultural research from
conservation science and archival databases to historical television shows. By the end of the
book readers will learn how to make locked letters study letters that may have been locked
and categorize those letters using systems the authors developed while studying more than 250
000 historic letters. Letterlocking is accompanied by a website freely accessible scholarly
articles and instructional videos and diagrams as well as foldable tear-out sheets with
instructions on how to fold and lock models of extant historical letters.
