Three hundred years ago, before envelopes, passwords and security codes, writers always struggled to keep the ideas, care and dreams expressed in their letters private.
One popular way to do this was to use a technique called letter king – folding a flat sheet of paper intricately to form your own envelope. This security strategy posed a challenge when between 578 and 1706 letters of 577 letters delivered to The Hague in the Netherlands were found in a trunk of undelivered mail.
There were letters Their final recipients were never reached, and the conservatives did not want to open and harm them. Instead, the team has found a way to read one of the letters, without breaking its seal or removing it in any way. Using highly sensitive X-ray scanners and computer algorithms, the researchers virtually opened the letter without opening it.
This is a computer-generated sequence of 17th-century European sealed letters. Virtual unfolding was used to read the contents of the letter without opening it physically. Deposit: Courtesy of Unlocking History Research Group Archive
“This algorithm takes us to the heart of a letter,” the research team said in a statement.
“Sometimes the past resists investigation. We could have just cut these letters open, but instead we took the time to study them for their hidden, secret and inaccessible qualities. We’ve learned that the letters are more revealing when they are The rest is open. ”
The technique revealed the subject of a letter dated July 31, 1697, requesting a certified copy of Daniel Le Purse’s death notice from Peter Le Purse, a French merchant in The Hague.
These details may seem absurd, but the researchers said the letter offers an interesting insight into the lives of ordinary people – a snapshot of the early modern world, such as his business.
The trunk of these numerous 17th-century characters was sent to the Dutch Postal Museum in The Hague in 1926. A letter from the trunk was scanned by X-ray microtomography and, for the first time in centuries, was virtually extracted to reveal its contents. Deposit: Courtesy of Unlocking History Research Group Archive
In addition to the open letters, it has 2,571 open letters and fragments that for one reason or another never reached their destination.
At that time, there was no such thing as a postage stamp and the recipients, not the sender, were responsible for the postal and delivery charges. If the recipient died or the letter was rejected, no fee could be collected and the letters were not delivered.
Historical A new way of eating historical documents
X-ray scanners were originally created to map the mineral content of teeth and are used for dental research – to this day.
“We have been able to use our scanners for X-ray history,” said David Mills, a research study author at Queen Mary University in London, in a statement.
“The scanning technology is similar to medical G-Medical CT scanners, but using more intense X-rays that allow us to see minute traces of metal in the ink used to write these letters. The rest of the team was then able to take our scans. Images and turn them into letters. Which they can virtually open and read for the first time in 300 years. “
The letter contains a message dated July 31, 1697, from Jacques Senacax to his cousin Pierre Le Purse, a French merchant. The watermark also appears in the center with the image of the bird. Deposit: Courtesy of Unlocking History Research Group Archive
The new technology is likely to unlock new historical historical evidence from Brian Trunk and other collections of unopened letters and documents, the study said.
“Using virtual disclosure to read an intimate story that has never seen the light of day – and never reached its recipient – is truly extraordinary,” the researchers said in a statement.
The research was published in the journal Nature Communications on Tuesday.
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