Dead Men Don’t Drown: #11
(catch-up with all episodes here)
Dear Ms Macleod, thank you for the photographs, which show what appears to be a folded letter secured by a spiral lock, though I agree the name is unhelpful, since the finished packet looks less like a spiral than a paper tongue stitched through its own mouth.
Please do not attempt to open it yourself, as the locking strip may have been cut from the letter sheet and woven through slits in such a way that any force will tear the paper along the original folds!
From the colour, wear, and hand-cut irregularity visible in your images, I would suggest a domestic rather than institutional use, although no firm assessment can be made without examining it in person.
If there is writing visible inside the fold, photograph it in raking light; do not hold the paper against a bulb or window, since heat and handling may cause further damage!
I have copied a colleague who specialises in locked letters and can advise whether this should be opened mechanically, stabilised first, or left closed and imaged.
For now, please place it flat in an acid-free folder, keep it away from food, steam, cats, and well-meaning relatives, and resist all temptation to see what someone took considerable trouble to hide!
Written for Denise’s Six Sentence Story including the word “hold“. Some images are created with Midjourney; all writing is authentically my own original work.
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