It’s no secret that we at the Society of Curiosities love a good story – and it doesn’t get much better than a chest from the 17th and 18th century filled with thousands of undelivered letters!
The trunk was bequeathed to the Dutch postal museum in the Hague in 1926, but remained mostly forgotten until recently. Now researchers are inspecting the letters to learn about letterlocking techniques and the daily life of common people.
Why Weren’t the Letters Delivered?
In the 17th and 18th century, the recipient would pay for the delivery of their letter. When the address was wrong, a letter was rejected or the recipient no longer at the residence, the postmaster would often burn the letter. Luckily for us, Postmaster and postmistress Simon and Marie de Brienne collected these letters in hopes of collecting delivery fees, thus amassing a stunning collection of around 2,600 unopened letters between 1689 and 1706.
Letterlocking Examined
We are most excited by the letterlocking research that is being conducted with the letters in the chest. Writers would craft cunning ways of folding and sealing their letters to avoid tampering and spying. If you love the idea of letterlocks as much as we do, you might enjoy these letterlock videos.
Fun fact: It wasn’t until the mid 1800s that envelopes became commonly used. Prior to that, letters were just folded, often sealed, and mailed.
