Name: Lecture: How a Book on Letterlocking Came to Be
Start: 2025-04-09T18:30:00-04:00
End: 2025-04-09T20:00:00-04:00
Location: The Grolier Club

Lecture: How a Book on Letterlocking Came to Be

Jana Dambrogio will explore how scholars have collaborated to study techniques used by letter writers for millennia
About this Event

Special Functions Lecture on "Collectors, Collections, and Collaborations: How a Book on Letterlocking Came to Be." Jana Dambrogio, coauthor of the new book Letterlocking: The Hidden History of the Letter (MIT Press), will explore how scholars have collaborated to study techniques used by letter writers for millennia to keep their correspondence sealed for privacy. Members of the Unlocking History Research Group, including collector/philanthropists Linda and Walter Evans, MD, will discuss examples penned by celebrated figures such as artist Romare Bearden, actor Ira Aldridge, politician Henri Christophe, and poet Phillis Wheatley.

The discussion will be followed by a letterlocking hands-on session and book signing.

Registration

If you are a Grolier Club member, please register yourself and your guests via the Club website. Do not register via Eventbrite.

Support

We appreciate your interest in the Grolier Club’s programming on the art and history of the book. For over 130 years we have offered our exhibitions and lectures to the public, free of charge. If you have enjoyed these offerings, and would like to support that tradition, and help ensure that it continues, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Grolier Club.

Accessibility

An ADA-compliant lift from street level to the lobby is available to anyone with mobility issues. All desk staff should be ready and able to assist you in operating the lift, with or without advance notice.

A “T-Coil” assisted listening system is available to anyone attending a lecture in the Exhibition Hall. Visitors with hearing aids should turn their devices to the “T” setting in order to access the system; visitors without hearing aids may request a “loop receiver” with earphones.

Environment

The temperature and humidity in the exhibition hall are tightly controlled for the sake of the valuable items on display, and this may cause the room to feel chilly, particularly in warmer weather, to those coming in from outside. Members and visitors are advised to bring a light wrap when visiting an exhibition, or attending an event in the hall.