The forgotten trick of letter locking

[ex-khobar Andy]

The stuff you come across when you can't get back to sleep . . .

In the olden (very olden) days of snail mail, long before envelopes were invented, people used to 'lock' their letters with a complicated series of paper inserts and sewing and wax seals.

I knew about the wax seals (I collect stamps especially early Victorian ones from the early 1840s) but I didn't know about some of the more complex procedures people used to keep their communications secure from prying eyes or at least so that the recipient would know if it had been intercepted.

There is a fascinating BBC piece about the process including 'how to' videos. It is really interesting and well worth 20 minutes of your time.

[Burning Petard]

Intriguing. I have my own seal ring and use it with very personal stuff (like birthday cards.)

I have a non-stapler from Japan that works on a similar principle. It punches out a small arrow shape, then folds it around and back in a slot into the paper stack. Works great for up to six sheets, that are not handled very much but still keeps the sheets together. Never needs to be refilled with staples and my paper shredder does not object the way it clunks when it hits a staple.

snailgate

[Gob]

Thanks for sharing.