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I am sad that at no point in the text was it ever explained how letter locks protect the letters! A rather unfortunate admission from an otherwise great articl
by com2kid 8y ago
I am sad that at no point in the text was it ever explained how letter locks protect the letters!
A rather unfortunate admission from an otherwise great article.
- namanyayg 8y agoYes, sorely missing descriptions of how the locks looked and worked.
- kqr 8y agoI'm assuming they don't actually protect the contents of the letters, but rather provide evidence of tampering – much like modern envelopes. On the other hand, it may very well be that some types of letter locks were designed such that the letter may be ripped apart if it is opened the wrong way...
- oneeyedpigeon 8y agoStill, it would seem unlikely that there are any mechanisms that would render the letter unreadable if opened incorrectly. It would be fascinating to see such a construction, though - I’m picturing something similar to the dagger device but with several complex 'plaits' and some fragile scored folds that would somehow interconnect and 'shred' if opened in an obvious way.
- Someone 8y agoShredding isn’t sufficient protection, unless the shreds are truly tiny. Some explosive or easily burning material beneath the seal could thwart attempts at using heat to remove the seal without breaking it. You could also use the technology of a match box to put the letter on fire if opened in the wrong way, or use small glass containers that wrap around folds like paper clips do, and, when broken, release a chemical that destroys the letter (killing the culprit trying to read it without knowing how to open the letter also would be an option). Another option is a device that cannot be opened in an oxygen-rich atmosphere. The challenge, of course, would be to seal such a letter, and to safely transport it (big seals already can be a challenge there, as they can easily break)
- code_duck 8y agoA dye pack could be an option, like used for currency bags in bank robberies and anti-shoplifting devices.
- Someone 8y agoGood idea, but a strong acid probably would do better than paint. With paint it will be difficult to make the letter truly unreadable.
- BrandoElFollito 8y agoThat's right, the contemporary paint is rather there to mark the notes and raise suspicion when used
- garethrees 8y agoThe purpose of the letter lock is to detect tampering: that is, to make it difficult for an eavesdropper to open and read the letter without leaving evidence of having done so. The standard letter lock was a wax seal: that is a blob of sealing wax with an impression of a stamp or signet ring. A signet ring had an intricate design that was difficult to forge. A standard wax seal could be defeated by sliding a thin heated knife between the seal and the paper. This melted a little of the wax at the base of the seal, enough to separate it from the paper. Then the letter could be read and the wax seal reattached using the same heated knife. The purpose of the complex letter locks described in the article was to make the hot knife technique more difficult, by embedding the end of a cut-out strip of paper into the seal so that when the eavesdropper slid their hot knife underneath the seal it would cut the strip.
- code_duck 8y agoDoesn’t the photo at the beginning essentially explain it?
- BrandoElFollito 8y agoI looked at the picture a few minutes, then gave up on understanding how it works, and jumped to the article to find out.
- soneca 8y agoThey link to a couple of techniques, like this: https://youtu.be/16GAIaYN_Gk https://youtu.be/16GAIaYN_Gk
- chrisweekly 8y ago"admission" -> "ommission"
- theoh 8y agoOmission, you mean.
- chrisweekly 8y agofacepalm (was too late to edit) yes
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]