Letterlocking: Elizabeth I’s two-piece locked Royal Commission, England (1580) (UH0596)

Modelled after Elizabeth I’s signed Royal Commissions (c.1580), British Library, Add. MS 33.594, fols. 10–11. The opened letterpackets of Queen Elizabeth I’s commission documents, often written in landscape, resemble a Renaissance-style “tuck-and-seal,” a common letterlocking variation. Model found in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries (MIT), Unlocking History Research Group archive, MC 0760. What is less common about Elizabeth’s tuck-and-seal letters is another locking mechanism often found hidden underneath the covered seal. A narrow lock, made of paper or parchment, was laced through two slits that pierced through two of the three overlapping pocket panels of the tri-folded letterpacket. In similar variations of this letter, lacing the lock through all panels would have been more common. The letterpacket was sealed and authenticated by impressing the Queen’s signet into the sealing wax through a diamond-shaped paper. The tails of the laced lock remained secure beneath the wax and the covered seal, concealing the locking mechanism. The Unlocking History Team describes this locking mechanism as a “two-piece lock.” (See our videos of other two-piece locks including Poggio Bracciolini’s two-part locked letter, Italy (1455 (UH 0157)), Friar John Mowth letter to John Paston I, sewn with covered seal, England (1466 UH0103)), A two-piece locked document becomes a fascicle, Italy (1599 (UH0104)) Brienne Postal Archive: A two-piece locked letter from Cosimo III de’ Medici, Italy (1701 (UH0164)), Yo El Rey, two-piece lock: paper band and shaped-covered seal, Spain (1732 (UH0017)), Empress Maria Theresa's Letter to Cardinal Ignazio Boncompagni Ludovisi, Austria (1775 (UH0061)). See also UH0060 Elizabeth I to Rafe Sadler. Produced by MIT Video Production. Directed and demonstrated by Jana Dambrogio. Funded by the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries. Special thanks to Ayako Letizia, Camille Dekeyser, and MIT Video Production staff. Citation information: Authors: Jana Dambrogio and the Unlocking History Research Group. "Elizabeth I’s two-piece locked Royal Commission, England (1580)," Letterlocking Instructional Videos. Unlocking History number 0596/Letterlocking Unique Video number: 060. Date filmed: December 2015. Duration: 3:51. Date posted: March 2016. Video URL: [Insert URL]. Date accessed: [Date]. Copyright 2015–present. Jana Dambrogio, the Unlocking History Research Group, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). All rights reserved. The following copyrighted material is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/.... Contact the MIT Technology Licensing Office for any other licensing inquiries. NB: Letterlock responsibly. Be mindful of open flames or hot tools. To find out more about letterlocking, visit http://letterlocking.org and follow us on social media @letterlocking. YouTube URL: http://bit.ly/QEICommission1580 or    • Letterlocking: Elizabeth I’s two-piece loc...