About the event
Join us for a public lecture that delves into the fascinating art of letterlocking—an innovative method of folding and securing a letter to function as its envelope for delivery. This centuries-old practice served as a crucial document security technology, utilized by notable historical figures from Elizabeth I and her spies to Japanese samurai lords. Remarkably, letterlocking transcended cultures, borders, and social classes, highlighting its significance in history.
Speakers
Jana Dambrogio is the Thomas F. Peterson (1957) Conservator at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries. She is a conservator, educator, and artist specializing in developing freely-accessible resources and treatment techniques to conserve the integrity of artifacts and to reveal the secrets they contain. She is the founder of the Unlocking History Research Group with Daniel Starza Smith. In 2025, Dambrogio and Smith published Letterlocking: The Hidden History of the Letter (MIT Press).
Event information
