Before the use of envelopes, people used ingenious methods to prevent prying eyes from reading their letters. One such person was Mary Queen of Scots, who composed her last ever letter from prison.

We’re no stranger to TikTokers getting a little crafty online – but this trend brings back one very niche fad from the Victorian era. And with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, Victorian puzzle ...

Over 3,000 undelivered letters in six different languages are preserved in a postmaster's trunk in The Hague, with hundreds unopened since the 17th century. The trunk from the Hague in which the ...

Communication through written word existed long before the days of text messages and DMs, and even then some kind of security was needed to protect people’s secrets. When we think of a handwritten ...

Those walking through the Harriette Hemmasi Exhibition Gallery at the John Hay Library can’t miss the V-shaped wall erected in the middle of the room. The wall is just one feature of the gallery’s new ...

Measuring Up: How Oliver Smoot Became a Standard Unit of Measurement A kid-friendly take on the classic story by Jenny (Bartels) Lacika ’06, illustrated by Anna Bron CANDLEWICK PRESS, 2025, $18.99 ...

Fortune-seekers and former soldiers arrived in the small towns of the Old West, carrying pistols and a taste for violence. Review by Richard Snow ...

In a steady, stately script, an anonymous Dutch writer living around 1700 wrote a letter: “I never thought you’d be such a miserable dog,” it went. “If you’ve got something to say, just say it to my ...

In an increasingly digital age, Esmond Poon, a senior in business management from Hong Kong, said sending and receiving physical letters is more personal than other forms of communication like email.

Centuries before encrypted texts and secure video conferencing, people relied on physical engineering to keep their written messages sturdy, sealed, and secure against eavesdroppers. In a new book, ...