Phillis Wheatley’s tuck-and-seal locked letter to Obour Tanner, USA (July19, 1772)

Modeled after Phillis Wheatley to Obour Tanner, Boston, USA, July 19, 1772, Massachusetts Historical Society." Model in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries (MIT), Unlocking History Research Group archive, MC0760.
Phillis Wheatley is celebrated as one of the most important poets writing in America in the late 1700s. As the first book of poetry published in English by a Black woman, her collection Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773) made her a household name in both the United States and Europe. Born in the Senegal-Gambia region, Phillis Wheatley was kidnapped at the age of seven, endured the brutal sea crossing by slave ship to the United States of America in 1761, and was purchased and enslaved by Bostonians John and Susannah Wheatley.
In 1772, Phillis Wheatley wrote this letter to her friend Obour Tanner a little more than a year before her emancipation from enslavement. The letters exchange is a rare example of correspondence between two Black women in this period. Wheatley uses two letterlocking techniques to write to Tanner; this letter uses a standard tuck-and-seal, and the other, a variation that incorporates an independent roll-fold (see video: Phillis Wheatley's rolled, tuck,-and-seal letter to Obour Tanner, England (1774)).
First, Wheatley took a sheet of paper, wrote her letter, and then C-folded it from top to bottom. She then rotated the letter 90 degrees and C-folded again, creating a central panel and two closure flaps. One closure flap expanded while the other tucked into it, and then she wet a circular red-colored starch wafer and placed it under the top layer of the pocket panel, securing the letterpacket shut.
We might ask why Phillis Wheatley chose the typical tuck-and-seal for this letter, and then a few years later, she employed a different distinctive letterlocking style that made the roll fold. We have no evidence that Wheatley's roll-folded letter contained an enclosure, but it strikes us that this method creates space for another message to be inserted. Extremely close attention to these details can help identify innovative letterlockings such as Phillis Wheatley's.
Produced and directed by Jana Dambrogio, Sheree Watson, MD, Walter O. Evans, MD, and Linda J. Evans. Demonstrated by Linda J. Evans. Funded by the Seaver Institute, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries, and Jana Dambrogio in support of our project, “Unlocking History.” Special thanks to colleagues at the Massachusetts Historical Society including Elaine Heavey, Hannah Elder, and Laura Wulf.
Citation information: Authors: Jana Dambrogio, Sheree Watson, MD, Walter O. Evans, MD, Linda J. Evans, and the Unlocking History Research Group. Title: "Phillis Wheatley’s tuck-and-seal locked letter to Obour Tanner, USA (July 19, 1772)." Letterlocking Instructional Videos. Unlocking History number 6205/Letterlocking Unique Video number: 294. Date filmed: March 6, 2023. Duration: 2:31. Date posted: March 18, 2024. Video URL: [Insert URL]. Date accessed: [Date].
Copyright 2024. Jana Dambrogio and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). All rights reserved. The following copyrighted material is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License creativecommons.org/licenses/.... Contact the MIT Technology Licensing Office for any other licensing inquiries.
To find out more about letterlocking, visit letterlocking.org and follow us on social media @letterlocking.
TH-cam URL: • Phillis Wheatley’s tuc...
Alt text:Linda’s hands are shown, folding a sheet of white paper, on a brown-colored background.

[@martintakeheart9903]

This is the best channel on TH-cam

[@erlynnicma4663]

Awesome, new technique!!
Always love to see your content

[@Liberal.Linda.]

So calming to watch. Just lovely.

[@martintakeheart9903]

Love this stuff

[@medeasoak9964]

May I ask what is the clear, viscous liquid in the glass?