Using computer algorithms and an X-ray scanner designed for dental examination, an international team of researchers has discovered the secrecy of a tightly folded letter from 1697 – without opening it.
The letter’s “significant distribution” – the result of a four-year project outlined in a paper published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications – marks a new line of historical study of centuries-old writing practice. letters. That is the term used to describe the use of origami-like composites to hide the content of letters before envelopes were widely used in the mid-1800s.
“This is a dream come true in the field of conservation,” said Jana Dambrogio, curator at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s research library and one of the paper’s 11 authors.
Experts say the method used to publish the text of the letter, which includes a type of image called X-ray microtomography, could have applications in health care and engineering.
Complexity of letters was complex according to the experience of the sender and the recipient and the apparentness of their messages at the time of transfer. Some contained dozens of folds, resulting in packages about the size of playing cards.