Seals
The seals on both the opened and closed letters are made of red wax or starch wafer, and are sometimes white, amber, or even green in color.
















Opened
There are approximately 2,000 opened letters in the Brienne collection. They are stored folded and closed, their folds pristine, as if they were opened once and put away. The folds help the team of experts define the many different letterlocking formats found within the collection from all over the world.






Inserted Objects
Before the invention of the modern gummed envelope in the 1830s, in the Brienne collection of undelivered letters, hand-written letter often acted as an envelope to contain inserted objects – often sealed or unsealed letters.
Enjoy this growing collection of images showing the "Inserted objects" found in the enclosures – in addition to letters, we have found a little drawing, textile swatches, or printed information.







Watermarks



Conservation


