Treasure chest
November 5, 2015 11:21 AM   Subscribe

Scholars are beginning to examine an unprecedented collection of European correspondence from the late 17th and early 18th centuries--a chest belonging to a Dutch postmaster which contains some 2600 undelivered letters, 600 of which have never been opened.
posted by Horace Rumpole (20 comments total) 38 users marked this as a favorite
 
I think we have that postman, too.
posted by garisimo at 11:23 AM on November 5, 2015 [22 favorites]


Fucking awesome.
posted by entropicamericana at 11:27 AM on November 5, 2015 [3 favorites]


I think we have that postman, too.

Then you should probably pay up.
The archive was established by the postmasters in an attempt to profit from their business. At that time, recipients were responsible for paying for any letters they received, and if the letters were undelivered, the postmasters would keep them in the hope that someday the recipient would search for the letter and pay them what was owed.
posted by zamboni at 11:32 AM on November 5, 2015 [1 favorite]


wait so that postmaster read 2000 of the letters?
posted by dismas at 11:32 AM on November 5, 2015 [5 favorites]


The letter locking examples are neat. I imagine that came about at a time when paper was expensive and you didn't want to waste it on something as unnecessary to getting your message across as an envelope.
posted by jacquilynne at 11:33 AM on November 5, 2015


Oh – the fourth open letter on the Brienne site is in French, and starts off with (I've respected the lack of punctuation): "My dearest brother this is the second time I have the honour to write you whilst you do not send me a reply which pains me deeply not to have your news and not letting us imagine you happy and in good company since then I pray that God keep you in good health and grant you His most precious blessings..."
posted by fraula at 11:38 AM on November 5, 2015 [6 favorites]


This is really interesting, thanks for posting! I would so love to be one of these researchers poring over the letters. The history, the language, the paper and writing style, and especially the letter content. It's super interesting. I love when history comes alive like this, where you get a real sense of a person who lived hundreds of years earlier. And that image of the colorful paper dove looks so modern to me (as in I could find it in a local stationery shop).
posted by JenMarie at 11:48 AM on November 5, 2015


I've respected the lack of punctuation

Back when men were men and women were women and literacy was hard-won and sentences fought for survival, those that won going on for unbelievable amounts of time relative to modern writers...
posted by GuyZero at 11:49 AM on November 5, 2015 [1 favorite]


Newman's ancestor?
posted by stevis23 at 12:02 PM on November 5, 2015


I need transcripts!
posted by aramaic at 12:19 PM on November 5, 2015


How about a soundtrack, instead?
posted by yhbc at 12:23 PM on November 5, 2015


Related: "I ask of you greetings and money."
posted by Hairy Lobster at 12:23 PM on November 5, 2015


This is SO COOL.
posted by carter at 12:24 PM on November 5, 2015


Really hoping for some ancient chain letters and 419 scams. "My dearest cousin, I am writing to you from Nigeria about a glorious business opportunity..."
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 1:08 PM on November 5, 2015 [3 favorites]


A real life version of Pratchett's "Going Postal"!
posted by hearthpig at 1:18 PM on November 5, 2015


Like others, I'd love to know more about the contents of the letters. I'm reading Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle right now and this fits in quite nicely. The books take place during roughly this time period and much of the action transpires in the form of letters amongst the various characters. Maybe there are encrypted messages dealing with court intrigue, Natural Philosophy, Alchemy, and mystical gold in that box! One can only dream. I can't get at much of the website; does anyone know if there are translations available on the web? It would be fun to browse through them and get a peek at different slices of life from back then.
posted by friendlyjuan at 1:28 PM on November 5, 2015 [1 favorite]


A postal ‘piggybank’ from the 17th century sheds light on the culture of that time

Winner, Least Clickbaity Headline Evar Award, 2015.
posted by chavenet at 1:30 PM on November 5, 2015 [1 favorite]


Wasn't this a Presidents of the United States of America song?
posted by webmutant at 3:55 PM on November 5, 2015


This is wonderful: thanks, Horace Rumpole. I’ve had an idle curiosity for a little while about the nuts & bolts of how the ‘Republic of Letters’ functioned - especially how international mail worked in those days, and this looks like a fascinating insight into that world. I hope there are some big, compendious books published about this trove in the years to come: I’d love to read about this in a lot more detail: the paper, the ink, the handwriting, the ‘letterlocking’ the contents of the letters & the language used, how things were addressed & delivered, etc., etc.
posted by misteraitch at 1:09 AM on November 6, 2015


Winner, Least Clickbaity Headline Evar Award, 2015.

2600 Weird French Letters the Postmaster Didn't Let You Read.

(You Won't Believe Number 1639!)
posted by rokusan at 1:40 AM on November 6, 2015 [1 favorite]


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