. Thousands of undeliverable th Century letters were found in a Dutch leather trunk. They range from an account about the desperate situation of an unwed pregnancy to correspondence with religious tokens and letters with samples of business, as well as examples of how spy spies send vital information. The collaboration began when a music historian read a brief excerpt in a 1938 French magazine about undelivered 17th-century letters in The Hague. It has since grown to include experts from Yale, Yale, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Groningen, Leiden and Leiden and an example of how spies sent vital information. A treasure chest containing undelivered 17th-century letters. Image: Signed. Sealed. Undelivered. Credit: Museum voor Communicatie. A peek at life in Early Modern Europe. According to Yale News these undelivered letters give a clear picture of the reality of early modern Europe. The project is called “Signed. Sealed. Undelivered”. It focuses on an archive that contains letters. These include ,000 open and 600 unsold, which were sent across Europe from 1698 through 1707.. These letters were given to the museum in 1926, by Simon de Brienne, his wife, Maria Germain. They were two Postmasters in The Hague, 1676, and 1707.. Rebekah, Yale’s assistant professor of music, began the investigation. She was looking for a theatre group in The Hague during the 18th centuries. Professor Ahrendt discovered a brief notice at the post office that detailed a group of letters, all undeliverable. The text contained seven quotes. After some research, she was able find the curator of the museum that had these letters. One of the sealed letters was found in the trunk. (Image: brienne.org/lettersindex) Thousands of unopened letters in a trunk Prof. Ahrendt said: “The letters that were in the trunk were a sort of postal piggybank. This was a truly amazing experience. Professor Ahrendt stated that “One of my favorite things about the collaboration is that we have the curator, an academic and a conservator. We can learn from one another.” This research aligns with courses I teach.” In an effort to earn money, the postmasters created the archive. The recipients were required to pay the delivery fee for all letters received in those days. They would keep them safe in case they weren’t delivered. The postmasters could then ask the recipient to search the letters and give them the fee. A’refused love letter’ is an example. (Image: news.yale.edu. Credit to Museum voor Communicatie. The trunk in which the letters were kept was sealed with sealskin. Professor Ahrendt stated that our notion of an archive was ‘challenged”: “However, these letters have survived all these years. Because it wasn’t intended to be an archive, this collection is challenging our idea of what one should look like. The trunk also contained elaborate accounting books that detailed prices for letters sent over 300 many years ago. Professor Ahrendt said, “We found out how the postal route and financial system worked at that time.” It is possible to document the date at which your mail was transported by a rider, boatman or other person. The connection between Paris’s post office and Hague was revealed to us. Even nasty letters were found from Parisian postal officials stating that they hadn’t received proper compensation.” Researchers were shocked at how many pieces of correspondence circulated at this time. The team said that many of the letters were related to broken hearts or themes one wouldn’t speak out loudly about. Some of the letters contained religious symbols, like this dove-shaped colored paper with the French inscription ‘donde piete’ (the ‘gifts of piety”) that symbolises the Holy Spirit. (Image: news.yale.edu. Credit to Museum voor Communicatie. Plea for a friend who is pregnant. One of these letters was sent by a woman in support of her friend, an opera singer. The letter was written to a rich merchant in The Hague and stated that it was for a friend of mine. She realized immediately after she quit The Hague’s opera company to travel to Paris that her mistake had been made. She needs your assistance to return to The Hague. “I could not tell you what caused her pain but you might guess that she was pregnant.” Prof. Ahrendt stated that the postmaster would inform the recipient why the letter wasn’t delivered. You might see a mark indicating that the letter was ‘dead or moved to England. One referring to the opera singer who was pregnant was marked “refused”. Rebekah, Assistant Professor at Yale University’s Department of Music. (Image:http://brienne.org/debrienneprojectteam) Some of the letters included items tucked inside, such as business samples or religious tokens. A sample of different types and gauges, as well as colors of thread, was found in one of the letters. This letter could have been an example of early marketing. Every strand of thread was meticulously attached to the page with wax seals. Professor Ahrendt was particularly interested in correspondence between musicians and said that the archive “is truly a cultural historical record of musicians.” It was surprising to me that musicians traveled that much in that period. There are very few people who can describe the daily lives of musicians, but these letters show large groups of musicians that travel frequently. It is a complete change from our previous beliefs about musicians’ history. Unopened letters reveal their stories. There are even lessons to be learnt from them. Jana Dambrogio is currently examining the methods used by senders to secure their letters. She calls this letterlocking. Dambrogio and her team want to find a connection between different formatted letters and their contents. For example, a missive folded in one direction is likely to be a love note. This is because it’s more secure than pleasing. Because it’s harder to open, a folded letter is more likely to be classified as a spy. Professor Ahrendt pointed out that “the materials used to secure unopened letters are as important as their contents.” Researchers are currently investigating different scanning methods to see inside letters, without opening them. Professor Ahrendt stated: “The next stage of our work involves connecting the cultural history aspect with science and technology so we can realize our vision.” A tape recording of language usage. The team was faced with six languages to record the letters. A lot of these letters were written in a very limited level of literacy. Some of the people hired professionals.
