{"product_id":"letterlocking-the-hidden-history-of-the-letter-9780262049276","title":"Letterlocking: The Hidden History of the Letter","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBefore 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 \u003ci\u003eLetterlocking\u003c\/i\u003e, 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFully illustrated with more than 300 images and diagrams, including a dictionary of sixty technical terms and concepts, \u003ci\u003eLetterlocking\u003c\/i\u003e 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eLetterlocking\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJana Dambrogio is Thomas F. Peterson (1957) Conservator for Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries. She previously held positions at the US National Archives, the United Nations, and the Vatican Apostolic Archives. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDaniel Starza Smith is Senior Lecturer in Early Modern English Literature at King's College London. His books include \u003ci\u003eJohn Donne and the Conway Papers\u003c\/i\u003e and (with coeditor Joshua Eckhardt) \u003ci\u003eManuscript Miscellanies in Early Modern England\u003c\/i\u003e. He is General Editor of the correspondence of John Donne for Oxford University Press. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDambrogio and Smith are founders of the Unlocking History Research Group (letterlocking.org), an international and interdisciplinary team of experts dedicated to studying and preserving historical communication technologies.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"MIT Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51184851845394,"sku":"9780262049276","price":49.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_29e07f92-aef6-4942-8597-5287ceb9e151.jpg?v=1744579843","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/letterlocking-the-hidden-history-of-the-letter-9780262049276","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}