Undeciphered Superscription by Edward Hyde in Brussels (1659-1660)

When I was browsing the Latin edition of Life of John Barwick, I noticed some letters by Edward Hyde in Brussels just before the Restoration have superscription in cipher (probably concealing the recipient(s)). The superscription is omitted in the English version. (The Latin version leaves letters in the appendix in English.) I added a section "Undeciphered Superscription by Hyde (1659-1660)" about this in "King Charles II's Ciphers during Exile". I also mentioned it in "Unsolved Historical Ciphers".

Another Specimen of Scytale Not As a Transposition Cipher

The scytale is known as a device for transposition cipher. But in my opinion, such an understandnig was established only around the 1890s. I quoted many materials in "Scytale Not as a Transposition Cipher". Now, I added another specimen in Schooling, "Secrets in Cipher" (1896).

Decoded but not Identified Code of Luzerne, French Minister to the United States

When browsing my past notes, I found a passage in code of a letter dated 8 January 1781 of Chevalier de la Luzerne, minister to the United States. The original is at Rochambeau Papers and Rochambeau Family Cartographic Archive. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. The passage in code is as follows. (Repeating symbols are marked by using two-byte characters.)

445 538 819 177 960 60 315 854 442
971 202 919 391 610 133 177 1173 555 1183 1096
118 664 575 812 959 1173 874 992 739 32
736 894 1173 486 1198 595 860 921 937 309
1171 239 68 1096 1183 967 612 1050 622 769
r.
216 159 700 361 646 740 329 664 1185 215 804
713 803 100 416 799 573 139 34 1117 814 921
309 1098 226 680 181 573 1052 324 193 761
195 745 835 297 32 766 921 892▽ 937 547 239
532 161 185 881 179 177 199 797 874 642 828
736 1062 4 957 896 769 766 834 1002 709 1177
161 909 456 913 438 710 1094 872 874 472
664 1012 1077 613〇 1199 1123 1010 45 482 50
874 960 485 1023 329 616 756 959 297 350
965 38 613〇 664 975 842 32 999 953 328 470
711★ 1022 736 1019□ 264■ 886 1163 905◇ 424 864
860 134 531 535 391△ 664 575 278 959 903◆ 416
p.8
250 256 717 78 903◆ 983 383 892▽ 912 56 389▲
986● 872 391△ 880 676 430 444 337◎ 711★ 864
135 905◇ 806 660 1092 892▽ 96 986● 1023 610
292 896 713 646 638 159 337◎ 1096 12 785 606
1032 1173 555 389▲ 577 616 516 558 337◎ 117
1019□ 264■ 28 814 532 362 305 511 372 148 334

Decoding on a separate reads as follows. (* marks where I'm not sure of my transcription.)

quelques membres du congres furent abord Morris*
du danger d'une pareille defection dans le teste de Larmee
et dans le premier moment d'epouvante l'un
d'eux quitter la seance pour venir me proposer
de vous expedier un courier pour que vous vous approchez
de Westpointe et vous chargiez s'il etoit necessaire de la
deffense de ce poste. Je l'assure promptement du tete* avec le
quel votre arivee concouroit a la deffense des treze etats mais je
lui dis qu'il ne paroissoit que le soir de ces mesures devoit
etre laisse avec general Washington a qui le congres pouvoit
donner les directions necessaires. J'ai cree devoir decliner de la sorte
cette demarete* parceque si l'armee ameriquaine
est reellement disposee a la defection ce que rien n'anouma*
jusques ici ce parti ne seroit que la prescipiter et
si elle n'y est pas portee ce seroit donnez lieu a une
p.10
mefiance et une jalousie dangereuse entre les francois et
les ameriquains

This is not an undecoded ciphertext, but I could not identify the assignment of figures when I examined this many years ago.

For contemporary French code, see, e.g.,
French Code between General Rochambeau and Admiral de Barras (1781)
"Code Switching in French Diplomatic Correspondence and Intercepted Letter of Barbé-Marbois (1782)"

An Unsolved Letter of Richard Forster in the household of Henrietta-Maria (1644)

 An undeciphered letter dated 13 May 1644 is found among papers of Sir Richard Forster, treasurer of Queen Henrietta-Maria's household, according to Karen Britland (2013), "Reading between the lines: royalist letters and encryption in the English civil wars", Critical Quarterly, vol.55 (4), pp.15-26. It is in the hand of Forster, and may have been addressed to Henrietta-Maria. The Queen had, leaving Oxford threatened by the parliamentarians, come to Exeter, where she would give birth to a girl in June before leaving for France.

 d. c., t. g., p., 4. 30. q. 30. 19., x. 30. f. 16. 2. 50., a. 0. 40. 12. 20.
30. y. 30. c. 2., 7. 0., u. 4. t. 88. 30. 0. l. p., a. d. 2. 30.,
ie vous en responds et mesmes dans c. 0. x. l. 2. d. e. c.
0. 40., 7. 2., y. 0. 20. n. 2. 12. 50. 16. s. t., 90. 20. 0. t. 2. 14.
x. a. 30. c. 2. u. 0. t. b., 80. 2. x. 30. s. g. 0. x. a. 2., 90. 20.
30. a. 0. t. q. 2., 90. 16. 30. 20., 12. s. t. q. 0. l. 30. 2. 20., 30. s.
50. 20. 2., 30. d. 0., y. s. 30. 20., 2. 19. n. p. d. l. 0., 4., a. 16.
2. 30., 30. t., y. c. 30. x., 5. 20. 4. 19. 7., 40. 4. 12. l. 16. 70.
d. g. 0., 90. 4. 20. c. p., u. 30. 80. 50. 16. y. c. d. q. 4. 8.
16. s. 19., a. 2. 40., 30. s. x., 40. 0. 20. 30. d. 12. 2. x., y.
s. 30. 20., 80. 0. x. 4. c. 30. 50., 7. 0., 30. s. x., 70. 20
2. l. 0. 40. et mesurer a cela sil est meilleur d’agir, ou
de soupir 13. de may. 1644

 

Charles I-Boswell Cipher (1643)

Unsolved letters from Charles I to Boswell (2 November 1643) and Nicholas to Boswell (2 November 1643) are preserved in The National Archives (TNA). I included an entry for these in Unsolved Historical Ciphers.

I obtained a copy of them many years ago, but exact information is not at hand now. (I'm not even sure of the recipient's name. It may be Bosvil, Bothwell, or the like.)
The following is my provisional transcription I made back then. It may include many errors because I was not familiar with reading old handwriting at the time (not that I am now). Asterisk (*) marks where I was particularly unsure.

Charles I to Boswell, 2 November 1643
Sir, Wee have received 873 69 72 65 361 ill 26 102 92 97 45 86
85 17 516 588 134 be* 6_ 132 106 8_ 32 46 100 1643. But never
heard of any 514 516 588 Our 47 86 △ 110 33 17 93 122 中 41 112 m.y^w
291 588 362 21 41 52 49 and 40 15 873 61 116 88 □ 77 70 28
saue* 134 35 86 112 70 in 41 24 53 in 71 374 158 ＋ 150 to 14
64 end 800 y^w Funerals of the Lave*≪→Late?≫ 303 291 40 his 34 44 29 hir &
65 50 60 25 22 16 376 deceased of happy memory 800 851 102 154
made an 1 4 40 30 69 28 3 but 18 10 5 36 now not 78 59 it.
380 he 149 364 29 he same ar 76 24 135 33 289 safe The Difficul
ty of passage in* 34 22 are hash* preiudiced + look*. Our 中 873
□ 40 20 34 58 22 21 45 38 26 40 & 588 82 70 123 124 are
soe 149 146 362 all & 153 93 69 46 27 29 381 able 800 + spe-
cially in this coniuncture of our Affaires, as w*[with?] 20 21 18 10 knowledge
591 749 there 223 high 25 79 4 62 80 49 48 71 70 81 w* 629
you therefore 800 27 28 70 15 sent 62 89 100 prince 97 159 16 2
77 107 an* 84 88 177 on this behalf 800 205 148 151 123
said 中 873 □ & to lett him 835 33 22 100 stand that w 64
83 15 all most 854e 45 62 120 ly 123 138 69 94 96 89 118 his
185 w[with?] in 755 188 539 40 16 61 at 45 83 & 639 in rebat* w 636por
it 5 124 107 all 99 97 1 5 lease* 35 24 61 16 800 134 123 an
112 120 it the 150 14 am 70 6 800 + 800 y^w 640 588 30 70 31 61
110 77 107 10 33 20 28 & 61 62 u 101 107 18 90^ 46 29 70 52
386 106 all 85 110 41 53 107 or 228 Not doubting but God
will shortly enable Us to recompence soe 8 82 100 46 154 & soe
406ous 20 69 591 & 70 88 126 ^w doe as 40 89 100 118 17 103
(verso)
Our self also of our 58 68 113 our particular & doe take your
addres by 213 800 + in very good part, as also that you haue taken
care to avoyde the dangerousnes of the passage hither. And soe
wishing you a safe returne back 800 62 89 100 △ 中 873 □
to whom w herewith 750 79 122 135 28 70 6* 76 118 105 94
121 53 72 92 49 64 Wee commit you to the Protection of the
Almighty. Given at our court at Oxford the second day of Nobember
in y^w e [N]ineteenth yeare of Our Reigne 1643.

.....

①Nicholas to Boswell, 2 November 1643
Sir, 484 21 86 85 127 131 128 142 800
40 24 23 n 48 44 31 2 35 24 64 pleasure 800
873r 29 59 at 55 38 41 6 65 88 118 all
27 0 88 112 72 56 49[b?] 70[y?] diligence & industry
80[-?] 79[of?] y^w[your?] 37 94 20 26 118 112 588 the 170 &
other 54 96 112 22 746 25 103 800 59 72
98 105 118 123 the 21 62 61 47 110 113 70 52
588 y^w 181 40 15 from y^w 726 82 122 141 18
it 147 150 107 94 123 118 12 153 27 51 100
129 83 138 121 33 22 81 that 125 he 126
374 854 117 62 more 107 41 76 101 14 27
he 50 2 95 62 86 117 for that 53 14 17 he
79 190 understood 35 70 52 129 11 50 62 29
800 145 106 82 94 98* 53 377 109 122 131
44 100 69 79
His Ma^ys two letters herewith sent with
flying Seales are put into yo^r character, because
most safe & ready, your are to decifer & interpret
them. Monsieur 82 48 52 42 40 64 appeares
not here.
(Page 2)
I must entreat yo^r care over the enclosed in
this & another pacqt going herewith, and having
acknowledged the receipt of yo^rs of the 8th 22/12
& 29/19 of October with many thanks, I must
remit you to the not* for more account upon
them, & ever remains

Japanese "Codebook" for Texting on Pagers from 1994

Before mobile phones came into use, young people communicated with pagers for some time. At a time when pagers could send figures but not letters, they managed to exchange relativly complicated messages by using only figures: 0906 (I'll be late), 105216 (Where are you?), 87410971 (I don't want to part with you.), etc. This was possible because mnemonics to remember names or phrases by representing syllables with figures are common in Japan. Of course, there are much more syllables in Japanese than the number of Arafic figures. Thus, it may be viewed as a polyphonic cipher (see here).
The above examples can be parsed as follows:
0(o)9(ku)0(re)6(ru)
10(do)5(ko)2(ni)1(i)6(ru)
8(ha)7(na)4(shi)10(ta)9(ku)7(na)1(i). (*By the way, this can also mean "I don't want to talk to you"!)

I got a "codebook" for such numerical messages at an auction site the other day. Actually, I had a copy of this book back then (not that I used it myself, but I bought it out of curiosity), but I think I discarded it some years ago. I also had a similar texting codebook for English that I bought in London around 2000. I hope I have not discarded it.

Notes (25 September 2021)
About the English "codebook" for texting, I was sure it would be in a stack of boxes in my study if I had not discarded it. Today, I had time to check them, and found nothing. It seems I threw them away with the Japanese "codebook".
Instead, I found my memo of
the titles. They are still on Amazon:

text me --All the text messages you need for your mobile phone (2000)
WAN2TLK? ltle bk of txt msgs (2000)
LUVTLK! ltle bk of luv txt (2001)

Notes (25 April 2024)
I found photos (film photos!) of some pager codebooks among my papers.