The other day, I ran into a blogpost of the Parliamentary Archives: Katherine Emery (2020), "Cracking the code: Love, war and letters". This made me aware that some images of cipher letters to Charles I are available at the Parliamentary Archives (and reminded me of ciphers in the British Library I had noted before for future study).
(1) Letter in "Cipher with Ministers in Oxford (Spring 1645)"
Nicholas to Charles I, 22 May 1645 (Parliamentary Archives)
(2) Letters in "Third Cipher between Charles I and Henrietta-Maria"
(2-1) Jermyn to Charles I, 12 May 1645 (Parliamentary Archives) *This record cannot be reached by the search terms such as "cipher", "decipher", but the ID in the official blog readily led to the relevant page.
(2-2) Henrietta Maria to King Charles I, 6 January 1645 (Parliamentary Archives)
(2-3)Henrietta Maria to King Charles I, 13 March 1645 (Parliamentary Archives)
(2-4)(Jermyn?) to Charles I, 21 April 1645 (Parliamentary Archives)
(3) Letter in "Second Cipher between Charles I and Henrietta-Maria in Holland and the North (Aug. 1642-Jul. 1643)"
Henrietta Maria to Charles I, 27 June 1643 (Parliamentary Archives)
(4) Letter in "Cipher with Prince Rupert, Digby, and Ormonde (1644-1645)" (formerly called "Cipher with Prince Rupert (Summer 1644)")
(4-1) Charles I to Prince Maurice, 25 June 1644 (Parliamentary Archives)
(4-2) Letters from Charles I to Prince Rupert, March 1643 to April 1645 (Add MS 18983 (BL))
One from 29 April 1645 is not deciphered but can be read.
(5) "D: of Richemonds Cyfer"
Charles I to Prince Rupert, 31 July 1645 (Add MS 18983, ff.15-16).
This letter shows Charles changed his cipher used in correspondence with Rupert after Naseby. There is a note in the margin, "This is in the D: of Richemonds Cyfer." The Duke of Richmond had returned from exile to defend Oxford for the King (Wikipedia).
This is the same as what I previously reconstructed from Add MS 18982 f.79 (privately designated THE=g4). This cipher is interesting in providing for many nulls among low numbers, where typically single letters are assigned.
Specifically, while many of numbers 1-112 are for letters but most of 20-40 are nulls. When these nulls are well used (as in this letter), the codebreaker may have been led off track.
About the same time, Rupert used a different cipher with Nicholas ("Nicholas-Rupert Cipher after Naseby (July 1645)").
These specimens will help fill the gap in my reconstruction of the ciphers.
For the specific ciphers, see "King Charles I's Ciphers" (this article started with the few printed sources available at first, and need an overhaul with many archival materials now available online).
24/09/2023
A Letter in Napoleonic Small Cipher found in Dresden
A private email drew my attention to a letter (1813) found in Dresden of General Rapp (defending Danzig for Napoleon). It was posted on Klaus Schmeh's facebook and solved instantly by Geoge Lasry, who had "developed a special tool for syllabary ciphers of this kind" (see my previous post). I now mentioned this achievement in "Great Ciphers of Napoleon's Grande Armée".
For this particular case, General Rapp's small cipher is printed in Bazeries' Les chiffres secrets dévoilés (p.275) as mentioned in my article "A Specimen of Napoleon's Small Cipher (1813)". Bazeries' table allows what couldn't be identified by an algorithm:
44(deux) 44(deux) 7(zero) 8 8
46(une) 5 46(une) 7(zero) 8
46(une) 26(trois) 2(neuf) 46(une) 7(zero) i.e., 13910
*7(zero) is not in Bazeries' table, but I think I saw it somewhere. 5 and 8 most probably represent digits.
For this particular case, General Rapp's small cipher is printed in Bazeries' Les chiffres secrets dévoilés (p.275) as mentioned in my article "A Specimen of Napoleon's Small Cipher (1813)". Bazeries' table allows what couldn't be identified by an algorithm:
44(deux) 44(deux) 7(zero) 8 8
46(une) 5 46(une) 7(zero) 8
46(une) 26(trois) 2(neuf) 46(une) 7(zero) i.e., 13910
*7(zero) is not in Bazeries' table, but I think I saw it somewhere. 5 and 8 most probably represent digits.
21/09/2023
Inventory of Edward Nicholas' Ciphers in Egerton MS 2550
After vacillating for a night after uploading an article about Edward Nicholas, I uploaded an inventory of his ciphers in Egerton MS 2550 in a CSV format for what it's worth (I'm sure it includes many transcription errors).
*It seems downloading does not work for security reasons. Try a link in the article "Polyalphabetic Cipher Exercise by Royalist Minister Edward Nicholas".
*It seems downloading does not work for security reasons. Try a link in the article "Polyalphabetic Cipher Exercise by Royalist Minister Edward Nicholas".
20/09/2023
Royalist Minister Edward Nicholas Studies Vigenere/Beaufort Cipher
Among papers of Edward Nicholas, secretary of state to Charles I and Charles II, I found a worksheet of the Vigenere/Beaufort cipher (Egerton MS 2550, f.39). A printed Vegenere table (f.86) seems too neatly printed to belong to the seventeenth century, but I believe the worksheet (at least the main part of it) shows Nicholas experimented with the polyalphabetic scheme.
I uploaded a new article on this: "Polyalphabetic Cipher Exercise by Royalist Minister Edward Nicholas".
It is yet to be found out how and when Nicholas learned of polyalphabetic ciphers.
I uploaded a new article on this: "Polyalphabetic Cipher Exercise by Royalist Minister Edward Nicholas".
It is yet to be found out how and when Nicholas learned of polyalphabetic ciphers.
18/09/2023
Three Ciphers of Nicholas Throckmorton Identified, Two Remain Unsolved
Among Throckmorton's ciphertexts in Add MS 4136 mentioned the other day, I identified three ciphers after all, and reported them in "Ciphers during the Reign of Queen Elizabeth I" (and updated the records in the DECODE database).
Two ciphertexts remain unidentified.
Two ciphertexts remain unidentified.
10/09/2023
A Telegram from Switzerland (1937)
A private email made me aware that two unsolved encrypted telegrams from Switzerland are on Klaus Schmeh's facebook page. It was sent to "London Mcl." and one has a handwritten note "via angleterre Eastern." The timestamp for both is "8 JAN 37."
Both telegrams begin with "BLUME SALAMANCA", followed by a sequence of five letter groups. These are part of the body text (because they are reckoned in the word counting penciled as "50" and "100".)
While a codebook may have been used, it is pointed out that the index of coincidence matches that of English, pointing to a possibility of transposition.
Side information:
- These telegrams are mentioned in Regula Bochsler (2022), Nylon und Napalm - Die Geschäfte der Emser Werke und ihres Gründers Werner Oswald (Google).
- Bengt Beckman, C.G. McKay (2013), Swedish Signal Intelligence 1900-1945, p.110 Google describes the basic structure of telegrams at the time.
- Klaus' Cipherbrain article presents a telegram, apparently sent from Switzerland to London (1942), where the discussion seems to have agreed on a hypothesis that it is encoded in the British Government Telegraph Code, unofficially called the ABABY Code or the BABY Code for the first codeword ABABY standing for fullstop. I suppose this codebook does not apply to the BLUME telegram because it has codewords earlier than ABABY (e.g., AAATI).
- The Riegner Telegram (Wikipedia) (1942) is a telegram sent from Geneva to London and New York. It was sent from Gerhart Riegner of World Jewish Congress and conveyed an early report of the Nazi's plan of extermination of Jews. It was sent in "CYPHER", but the original cipher message does not seem to be extant.
(Additional Notes) Bochsler, the author quoted above and the historian who discovered the telegrams, provided background information in a comment on Klaus' facebook page. The telegram was sent from an enterprise owned by Werner Oswald. When questioned by the Swiss Federal Police, he claimed that the telegrams were related to "wool business" in Spain, but Bochsler doubts this because he had a good relationship with fascist Spain.
Both telegrams begin with "BLUME SALAMANCA", followed by a sequence of five letter groups. These are part of the body text (because they are reckoned in the word counting penciled as "50" and "100".)
While a codebook may have been used, it is pointed out that the index of coincidence matches that of English, pointing to a possibility of transposition.
Side information:
- These telegrams are mentioned in Regula Bochsler (2022), Nylon und Napalm - Die Geschäfte der Emser Werke und ihres Gründers Werner Oswald (Google).
- Bengt Beckman, C.G. McKay (2013), Swedish Signal Intelligence 1900-1945, p.110 Google describes the basic structure of telegrams at the time.
- Klaus' Cipherbrain article presents a telegram, apparently sent from Switzerland to London (1942), where the discussion seems to have agreed on a hypothesis that it is encoded in the British Government Telegraph Code, unofficially called the ABABY Code or the BABY Code for the first codeword ABABY standing for fullstop. I suppose this codebook does not apply to the BLUME telegram because it has codewords earlier than ABABY (e.g., AAATI).
- The Riegner Telegram (Wikipedia) (1942) is a telegram sent from Geneva to London and New York. It was sent from Gerhart Riegner of World Jewish Congress and conveyed an early report of the Nazi's plan of extermination of Jews. It was sent in "CYPHER", but the original cipher message does not seem to be extant.
(Additional Notes) Bochsler, the author quoted above and the historian who discovered the telegrams, provided background information in a comment on Klaus' facebook page. The telegram was sent from an enterprise owned by Werner Oswald. When questioned by the Swiss Federal Police, he claimed that the telegrams were related to "wool business" in Spain, but Bochsler doubts this because he had a good relationship with fascist Spain.
07/09/2023
Excerpts of Nicholas Throckmorton's Cipher Letters (1559)
BL Add MS 4136 includes many papers related to Nichlas Throckmorton. Sheets after sheets are filled with numbered segments in cipher. I found many of them can be read with a key reconstructed from Add MS 35830. Although the papers from Add MS 4136 are annotated with the dates and the writer (Nicholas Throckmorton, ambassador in France, and his successors), the letters calendared in CSP foreign did not seem to quite match.
When I deciphered a sequence "marques d'Alboeuf and Martigues" in one letter, it allowed me to find the decipherment of full letters printed in Forbes (1740), the source of CSP. It confirmed that the cipher segments in Add MS 4136 are excerpts corresponding to the text in italics (i.e., those portions in cipher) in Forbes (1740).
I'm still working on this. Hopefully, I can report the results in near future.
By the way, Nicholas Throckmorton's cipher seems to have a fairly large number of code symbols. Often, a symbol consists of the initial letter of the word it represents and some additional stroke.
06/09/2023
I Reconstructed a Cipher but Lost Its Source.
When I reconstructed a cipher from some deciphered material, I don't upload it right away, but usually wait some time until more materials are collected in order to see how best to present them.
The downside of this practice is that I sometimes forget what it is about.
The other day, I made some additions from Henry VIII's time ("Earliest English Diplomatic Ciphers" and "Ciphers during the Reign of Henry VIII"), but I lost a source of one of the ciphers I reconstructed. It may have been taken from the same volume from which I took the other ciphers.
24/08/2023
Simulated Paper-and-Pencil Codebreaking of a Ciphered Letter of Mary, Queen of Scots
I uploaded a new article "Simulated Paper-and-Pencil Codebreaking of a Ciphered Letter of Mary, Queen of Scots", which demonstrates how paper-and-pencil codebreakers could have broken a cipher used in a letter from Mary, Queen of Scots, to James Beaton, Archbishop of Glasgow (1586).
Remember that I did not break this cipher myself. The article only "simulates" how it could have been achieved by codebreakers such as Thomas Phelippes without using computer tools.
Remember that I did not break this cipher myself. The article only "simulates" how it could have been achieved by codebreakers such as Thomas Phelippes without using computer tools.
13/08/2023
An English Polyalphabetic Cipher from the Seventeenth Century
I uploaded a short new article "An English Polyalphabetic Cipher from the Seventeenth Century". No specimens enciphered with this are known to me.
12/08/2023
"Operational History of Japanese Naval Communications"
After WWII, the Japanese Government conducted war records investigation under instructions from the GHQ (the General Headquarters of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers). After the War Ministry and the General Staff were dissolved, the work was conducted under the supervision of the Demobilization Bureau. Records were compiled by former officers who had been on duty during the war.
An English version was distributed as
Operational History of Naval Communications: December 1941-August 1945. Japanese Monograph No.118 (Department of the Army: Office of the Chief of Military History, 1953) (pdf)
I learned of this by a citation in Chapter 17 of David Kahn, The Codebreakers. When I bought its paper reprint twenty years ago, I did not have access to the Japanese original. Now, the original (海軍作戦通信使), prepared by the Second Demobilization Bureau and dated March 1949, can be found at JACAR (Ref: C19010076600).
An edition by the Service School of the Safety Security Force (警備隊術科学校), dated 1953, is also available in pdf on Akio Tsutsumi's website (
).
Operational History of Naval Communications: December 1941-August 1945. Japanese Monograph No.118 (Department of the Army: Office of the Chief of Military History, 1953) (pdf)
I learned of this by a citation in Chapter 17 of David Kahn, The Codebreakers. When I bought its paper reprint twenty years ago, I did not have access to the Japanese original. Now, the original (海軍作戦通信使), prepared by the Second Demobilization Bureau and dated March 1949, can be found at JACAR (Ref: C19010076600).
An edition by the Service School of the Safety Security Force (警備隊術科学校), dated 1953, is also available in pdf on Akio Tsutsumi's website (
).
11/08/2023
(Nonsecret-)Coded Military Telegram of Imperial Japanese Army (1936)
I found a coded telegram of the Imperial Japanese Army from September 1936 in JACAR C01004245300. The code is a telegraphic code not intended for secrecy.
I added its transcription in an article in Japanese. (The abridged version in English, "Japanese Telegraph Codes", has not been updated recently. I hope machine translation will help reading the Japanese article.)
I added its transcription in an article in Japanese. (The abridged version in English, "Japanese Telegraph Codes", has not been updated recently. I hope machine translation will help reading the Japanese article.)
04/08/2023
A Cipher Letter to Henry VII from John Stile
John Stile was among the first to use cipher in English diplomatic correspondence. In "Earliest English Diplomatic Ciphers", I said he wrote many cipher letters at the end of Henry VII's reign, but my source was a secondary source. The other day, I reconstructed Stile's cipher from manuscript of his letters to Henry VIII. Now, I confirmed his cipher letter dated 26 April 1509 was addressed to Henry VII (the news of the death of Henry VII had not yet reached Spain).
Although the letter is known in calendared text, the printed text is much shorter than the plaintext deciphered from the cipher letter.
Although the letter is known in calendared text, the printed text is much shorter than the plaintext deciphered from the cipher letter.
01/08/2023
Ciphers of John Stile and Thomas Spinelly (1510s)
I added my reconstruction of ciphers of John Stile and Thomas Spinelly from the 1510s in "Earliest English Diplomatic Ciphers".
Stile's cipher turned out to be the one used in an undeciphered ciphertext I found in the Spanish archives (which was deciphered in the nineteenth century!). The condensed writing is so characteristic that the moment I saw Stile's cipher letter, I was sure it is the cipher used in the letter that I thought was Spanish. The record is now updated in "Unsolved Historical Ciphers".
Stile's cipher turned out to be the one used in an undeciphered ciphertext I found in the Spanish archives (which was deciphered in the nineteenth century!). The condensed writing is so characteristic that the moment I saw Stile's cipher letter, I was sure it is the cipher used in the letter that I thought was Spanish. The record is now updated in "Unsolved Historical Ciphers".
31/07/2023
A Cipher of Catherine de Medicis' Agent
The other day, I added a cipher of an agent sent by Catherine de Medicis to Tourogne (1577) in "French ciphers during the Reigns of Charles IX and Henry III".
I also made some additions in "Ciphers during the Reign of Queen Elizabeth I" from Cotton MS Caligula B VIII.
I also made some additions in "Ciphers during the Reign of Queen Elizabeth I" from Cotton MS Caligula B VIII.
21/07/2023
American Peace Commissioners' Instructions Coded for Franklin
Yesterday, papers including the instructions of the Continental Congress for the American peace commissioners were put on auction. The instructions in code appear to be the version for Franklin, and are very interesting for historical cryptography, because they are in John Jay's book code. The same instructions for John Adams were in a polyalphabetic cipher with a key "CR", and it is well-known Adams could not decipher them.
I uploaded a new article about this: "American Peace Commissioners' Instructions in John Jay's Book Code".
I uploaded a new article about this: "American Peace Commissioners' Instructions in John Jay's Book Code".
18/07/2023
Some Links to Papers of Continental Congress (PCC)
The other day, I needed to check John Jay's book codes and revisited my old article, "John Jay's Book Code Formula". I found, however, the links to PCC (Papers of Continental Congress) are no longer valid. (The links to Jay Papers are also dead, but the relevant pages may be reached by searching for ID.)
Since it may take time to overhaul the links, here are my log of comments to PCC. It seems the links are valid only when you are signed in.
https://www.fold3.com/image/4220962/vol-5-vol-5-page-251-continental-congress-papers
Item No.104
Item Title Ltrs from John Adams
Roll 131, p.251
John Adams to John Jay, 2 June 1785
Transcript of the letter in code on Page 469 of Roll 113. The plaintext is on Page 258 of the present roll (Roll 131).
https://www.fold3.com/image/441663/volume-1-page-561-continental-congress-papers
Item No 168
Roll 185 p.561
Coded in WE003 (as classified by Ralph E. Weber)
https://www.fold3.com/image/451493/volume-1-page-21-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 83
Item Title Letters from Arthur Lee, 1776-80
Arthur Lee to Secret Correspondence Committee, 3 June 1776
Printed in Wharton http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hlaw:@field(DOCID+@lit(dc00230)) According to its note, at the end of this letter is a minute explanation of a cipher. It is WE085 as classified by Ralph E. Weber.
https://www.fold3.com/image/397487/volume-1-page-50-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 110
Item Title Ltrs from John Jay
Roll 135 p.50
John Cadiz to Pres. of Cong. 3 March 1780
Book code based on Entick's New Spelling Dictionary is used. For details, see http://cryptiana.web.fc2.com/code/bookcode.htm
https://www.fold3.com/image/399035/volume-1-page-309-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 110
Item Tittle Ltrs from John Jay
Roll 135, p.309
Book code based on Abel Boyer's French Dictionary.
The count replied 509c23[that] 269c14[his] 336b27[maimed?] 557a24[would]
363a19[never] 118b17[consent] to 336c13[majorship?] that 520a36[tremendous?] 510a40 44b13 371a12 373a22 551c7
269b30 24a18 the United States that 509c23 520a36 had been
115a33 79b17 the 227c12 555a11 510a40 313a21 371a12 the King and 555a11
261a11 g 335b20 269b30 510a40 371c25 371a12 being a 386a11 514c13 307a29
...
https://www.fold3.com/image/428699/volume-1-page-51-continental-congress-papers
https://www.fold3.com/image/428701/volume-1-page-52-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 88
Item Title Ltrs from William Carmichael
Roll 116, p.51,52
Book code based on Entick's New Spelling Dictionary is used.
https://www.fold3.com/image/425170/volume-1-page-417-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 79
Item Title Ltrs of Secy of Foreign Aff Livingston
Roll 105, p.417
9 May 1782
Livingston expresses his surprise that Jay could not decipher his letter.
https://www.fold3.com/image/425187/volume-1-page-427-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 79
Item Title Ltrs of Secy of Foreign Aff Livingston
Roll 105, p.427
to Mr. Adams, who will take means to forward it to you by a safe hand. I am in great pain on account of your / letter of the 28th of July, a duplicate of which is arrived. The / original has miscarried. Should it have fallen into improper / hand it may do us very essential injury. I need not tell you / how impatient I shall be to hear that this has reached you, since I / can not use my cypher till I receive a line from you written in it, nor can I write with freedom to you till I have a cypher.
station. As you will have much leisure on hand, I must beg / you to write weekly to this office in cypher and to write with / freedom whatever it may be useful for us to know, particularly / all changes that may take place in the administration and / the measures of Russia. I will not repeat what I have said / on this subject in my last, a quadruplicate of which is / enclosed, as is also a cypher. This letter will be consigned /
https://www.fold3.com/image/425010/volume-1-page-334-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 79
Item Title Ltrs of Secy of Foreign Aff Livingston
Roll 105, p.334
13 December 1781
Code WE007 (as classified by Ralph E. Weber) is used.
https://www.fold3.com/image/419076/july-16-1783-nov-30-1785-vol-5-page-518-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 84
Item Title Ltrs from John Adams
Roll 113, p.518
20 June 1785
Adams-Jefferson code (THE=994) is used. See http://cryptiana.web.fc2.com/code/jeffersn.htm
https://www.fold3.com/image/256963/volume-1-vol-1-page-5-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 87
Item Title Ltrs from Thomas Jefferson
Roll 115, p.5
11 May 1785
Jefferson to Jay
Jefferson sent Jay a code (THE=224; see http://cryptiana.web.fc2.com/code/jeffersn.htm). Its use can be found on Roll 115, Page 47, Page 438, and Page 504.
https://www.fold3.com/image/407600/1775-1781-vol-1-page-705-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 51
Item Title Intercepted Letters - British
Roll 65, p.705
23 July 1781
James H. Craig to Lord Cornwallis
The cipher is a simple substition of the 25 letters of the alphabet by numbers 10-39. For details, see http://cryptiana.web.fc2.com/code/cornwals.htm
https://www.fold3.com/image/407130/1775-1781-vol-1-page-529-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 51
Item Title Intercepted Letters - British
Roll 65, p.529
7 October 1780
Cornwallis to James Wemyss
The cipher is a simple substition of the 25 letters of the alphabet by numbers 1-29. In higher numbers, only the right-side digit is valid. For details, see http://cryptiana.web.fc2.com/code/cornwals.htm
https://www.fold3.com/image/400467/volume-2-page-77-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 110
Item Title Ltrs from John Jay
Roll 135, p.77
The cipher passage is coded with WE006. The translation is printed in Wharton.
https://www.fold3.com/image/399111/volume-3-page-19-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 102
Item Title Ltrs from US to France
Roll 128, p.19
27 April 1779
Arthur Lee to John Bondfield
I send you a cypher by which we may corres- / pond without risque. I have seen enough of particular per- / sons to know not there is more danger to our country / from them than from the British army. The Chevalier
https://www.fold3.com/image/259572/volume-1-1776-84-vol-1-page-44-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 93
Item Title Ltrs from Charles WF Dumas
Roll 121, p.44
30 June 1776
Dumas to unknown
A letter in part in Dumas' cipher (see Roll 72, Vol. 1, Page 117). One portion reads: 613 [h] 2 [o] 17 [r] 15 [t] 19 [a] 4 [l] 5 [e] 414 [z] 207 [,] 424 [h] 69 [a] 1 [v] 16 [i] 14 [n] 104 [g] 11 [s] 9 [o] 76 [m] 13 [e] 33 [t] 613 [h] 21 [i] 27 [n] 238 [g] 34 [t] 50 [o] 51 [n] 24 [e] 476 [g] 67 [o] 52 [t] 53 [i] 75 [a] 57 [t] 26 [e] 22 [f] 94 [o] 25 [r] 61 [t] 424 [h] 29 [e] 28 [c] 9 [o] 54 [n] 561 [g] 46 [r] 32 [e] 12 [s] 39 [s] 226 [z] (Hortalez, having something to negotiate for the Congress)
https://www.fold3.com/image/379527/apr-30-1781-apr-29-1783-vol-2-page-206-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 101
Item Title Ltrs to Dumas from Franklin and others
Roll 127, p.206
A letter dated August 16, 1781, from Franklin to Dumas (not found in Wharton). The cipher is Dumas' cipher (see Roll 72, Page 117). The paragraph in cipher reads as follows: I have just received a neuu comi- issjon joining me uuit h M adams in ne- gociaions fo- r peace but this is not likely to afford me much em- pley at prese- nt
https://www.fold3.com/image/379444/jan-27-1780-apr-19-1781-vol-1-page-126-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 101
Item Title Ltrs to Dumas from Franklin and others
Roll 127, p.126
3 December 1780
Two phrases are in cipher and left blank in Wharton (see http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hlaw:@field(DOCID+@lit(dc004122)) for an electronic text). Ralph E. Weber (United States Diplomatic Cods and Ciphers, p.78, WE004) decoded them. The first one 873 373 657y reads "The Great Pention-y", that is, The Grand Pensionary. In the second instance, Wharton omits a whole sentence: "I remember of but one, which went with a copy of 873 897y 948 337." The cipher reads "The Treat-y with France".
Since it may take time to overhaul the links, here are my log of comments to PCC. It seems the links are valid only when you are signed in.
https://www.fold3.com/image/4220962/vol-5-vol-5-page-251-continental-congress-papers
Item No.104
Item Title Ltrs from John Adams
Roll 131, p.251
John Adams to John Jay, 2 June 1785
Transcript of the letter in code on Page 469 of Roll 113. The plaintext is on Page 258 of the present roll (Roll 131).
https://www.fold3.com/image/441663/volume-1-page-561-continental-congress-papers
Item No 168
Roll 185 p.561
Coded in WE003 (as classified by Ralph E. Weber)
https://www.fold3.com/image/451493/volume-1-page-21-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 83
Item Title Letters from Arthur Lee, 1776-80
Arthur Lee to Secret Correspondence Committee, 3 June 1776
Printed in Wharton http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hlaw:@field(DOCID+@lit(dc00230)) According to its note, at the end of this letter is a minute explanation of a cipher. It is WE085 as classified by Ralph E. Weber.
https://www.fold3.com/image/397487/volume-1-page-50-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 110
Item Title Ltrs from John Jay
Roll 135 p.50
John Cadiz to Pres. of Cong. 3 March 1780
Book code based on Entick's New Spelling Dictionary is used. For details, see http://cryptiana.web.fc2.com/code/bookcode.htm
https://www.fold3.com/image/399035/volume-1-page-309-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 110
Item Tittle Ltrs from John Jay
Roll 135, p.309
Book code based on Abel Boyer's French Dictionary.
The count replied 509c23[that] 269c14[his] 336b27[maimed?] 557a24[would]
363a19[never] 118b17[consent] to 336c13[majorship?] that 520a36[tremendous?] 510a40 44b13 371a12 373a22 551c7
269b30 24a18 the United States that 509c23 520a36 had been
115a33 79b17 the 227c12 555a11 510a40 313a21 371a12 the King and 555a11
261a11 g 335b20 269b30 510a40 371c25 371a12 being a 386a11 514c13 307a29
...
https://www.fold3.com/image/428699/volume-1-page-51-continental-congress-papers
https://www.fold3.com/image/428701/volume-1-page-52-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 88
Item Title Ltrs from William Carmichael
Roll 116, p.51,52
Book code based on Entick's New Spelling Dictionary is used.
https://www.fold3.com/image/425170/volume-1-page-417-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 79
Item Title Ltrs of Secy of Foreign Aff Livingston
Roll 105, p.417
9 May 1782
Livingston expresses his surprise that Jay could not decipher his letter.
https://www.fold3.com/image/425187/volume-1-page-427-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 79
Item Title Ltrs of Secy of Foreign Aff Livingston
Roll 105, p.427
to Mr. Adams, who will take means to forward it to you by a safe hand. I am in great pain on account of your / letter of the 28th of July, a duplicate of which is arrived. The / original has miscarried. Should it have fallen into improper / hand it may do us very essential injury. I need not tell you / how impatient I shall be to hear that this has reached you, since I / can not use my cypher till I receive a line from you written in it, nor can I write with freedom to you till I have a cypher.
station. As you will have much leisure on hand, I must beg / you to write weekly to this office in cypher and to write with / freedom whatever it may be useful for us to know, particularly / all changes that may take place in the administration and / the measures of Russia. I will not repeat what I have said / on this subject in my last, a quadruplicate of which is / enclosed, as is also a cypher. This letter will be consigned /
https://www.fold3.com/image/425010/volume-1-page-334-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 79
Item Title Ltrs of Secy of Foreign Aff Livingston
Roll 105, p.334
13 December 1781
Code WE007 (as classified by Ralph E. Weber) is used.
https://www.fold3.com/image/419076/july-16-1783-nov-30-1785-vol-5-page-518-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 84
Item Title Ltrs from John Adams
Roll 113, p.518
20 June 1785
Adams-Jefferson code (THE=994) is used. See http://cryptiana.web.fc2.com/code/jeffersn.htm
https://www.fold3.com/image/256963/volume-1-vol-1-page-5-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 87
Item Title Ltrs from Thomas Jefferson
Roll 115, p.5
11 May 1785
Jefferson to Jay
Jefferson sent Jay a code (THE=224; see http://cryptiana.web.fc2.com/code/jeffersn.htm). Its use can be found on Roll 115, Page 47, Page 438, and Page 504.
https://www.fold3.com/image/407600/1775-1781-vol-1-page-705-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 51
Item Title Intercepted Letters - British
Roll 65, p.705
23 July 1781
James H. Craig to Lord Cornwallis
The cipher is a simple substition of the 25 letters of the alphabet by numbers 10-39. For details, see http://cryptiana.web.fc2.com/code/cornwals.htm
https://www.fold3.com/image/407130/1775-1781-vol-1-page-529-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 51
Item Title Intercepted Letters - British
Roll 65, p.529
7 October 1780
Cornwallis to James Wemyss
The cipher is a simple substition of the 25 letters of the alphabet by numbers 1-29. In higher numbers, only the right-side digit is valid. For details, see http://cryptiana.web.fc2.com/code/cornwals.htm
https://www.fold3.com/image/400467/volume-2-page-77-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 110
Item Title Ltrs from John Jay
Roll 135, p.77
The cipher passage is coded with WE006. The translation is printed in Wharton.
https://www.fold3.com/image/399111/volume-3-page-19-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 102
Item Title Ltrs from US to France
Roll 128, p.19
27 April 1779
Arthur Lee to John Bondfield
I send you a cypher by which we may corres- / pond without risque. I have seen enough of particular per- / sons to know not there is more danger to our country / from them than from the British army. The Chevalier
https://www.fold3.com/image/259572/volume-1-1776-84-vol-1-page-44-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 93
Item Title Ltrs from Charles WF Dumas
Roll 121, p.44
30 June 1776
Dumas to unknown
A letter in part in Dumas' cipher (see Roll 72, Vol. 1, Page 117). One portion reads: 613 [h] 2 [o] 17 [r] 15 [t] 19 [a] 4 [l] 5 [e] 414 [z] 207 [,] 424 [h] 69 [a] 1 [v] 16 [i] 14 [n] 104 [g] 11 [s] 9 [o] 76 [m] 13 [e] 33 [t] 613 [h] 21 [i] 27 [n] 238 [g] 34 [t] 50 [o] 51 [n] 24 [e] 476 [g] 67 [o] 52 [t] 53 [i] 75 [a] 57 [t] 26 [e] 22 [f] 94 [o] 25 [r] 61 [t] 424 [h] 29 [e] 28 [c] 9 [o] 54 [n] 561 [g] 46 [r] 32 [e] 12 [s] 39 [s] 226 [z] (Hortalez, having something to negotiate for the Congress)
https://www.fold3.com/image/379527/apr-30-1781-apr-29-1783-vol-2-page-206-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 101
Item Title Ltrs to Dumas from Franklin and others
Roll 127, p.206
A letter dated August 16, 1781, from Franklin to Dumas (not found in Wharton). The cipher is Dumas' cipher (see Roll 72, Page 117). The paragraph in cipher reads as follows: I have just received a neuu comi- issjon joining me uuit h M adams in ne- gociaions fo- r peace but this is not likely to afford me much em- pley at prese- nt
https://www.fold3.com/image/379444/jan-27-1780-apr-19-1781-vol-1-page-126-continental-congress-papers
Item No. 101
Item Title Ltrs to Dumas from Franklin and others
Roll 127, p.126
3 December 1780
Two phrases are in cipher and left blank in Wharton (see http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hlaw:@field(DOCID+@lit(dc004122)) for an electronic text). Ralph E. Weber (United States Diplomatic Cods and Ciphers, p.78, WE004) decoded them. The first one 873 373 657y reads "The Great Pention-y", that is, The Grand Pensionary. In the second instance, Wharton omits a whole sentence: "I remember of but one, which went with a copy of 873 897y 948 337." The cipher reads "The Treat-y with France".
17/07/2023
Two More Enciphered Letters of Mary, Queen of Scots
Two enciphered letters (already attributed to Mary, Queen of Scots in the book catalogue) are in Cotton MS, Caligula B IX.
I identified the keys used in these letters from among the keys I reconstructed.
One is the Mary-Hamilton Cipher. Thus, the recipient is probably John Hamilton, Archbishop of St. Andrews.
The other is the Mary-Norfolk Cipher. (Right after uploading this update, I found the deciphered text, with normalized spelling, is printed in Labanoff.)
These updates are now in "Ciphers of Mary, Queen of Scots".
I identified the keys used in these letters from among the keys I reconstructed.
One is the Mary-Hamilton Cipher. Thus, the recipient is probably John Hamilton, Archbishop of St. Andrews.
The other is the Mary-Norfolk Cipher. (Right after uploading this update, I found the deciphered text, with normalized spelling, is printed in Labanoff.)
These updates are now in "Ciphers of Mary, Queen of Scots".
10/07/2023
Agostino Amadi's Treatise on Cipher
I uploaded a new article: "Agostino Amadi's Treatise on Cipher". It is still like a stub, hopefully to be expanded someday if I can find more materials.
I thank DPJA Scheers for drawing my attention to this topic.
I thank DPJA Scheers for drawing my attention to this topic.
01/07/2023
Galileo's Anagrams and Gergo (Jargon)
Galileo Galilei was involved in secret communication by means of gergo (jargon). I learned it in a paper by Hannah Marcus and Paula Findlen (2019). (I thank DPJA Scheers for drawing my attention to this paper.)
Apart from gergo, the paper also discusses the famous anagrams Galileo composed to claim his astronomical discovery without disclosing the content. Interestingly, Johannes Kepler came up with his solutions, which were wrong, but are interesting because they are as if Keplar coincidentally predicted the moons of Mars and the Great Red Spot of Jupiter. These are covered by a new article, "Anagram and Gergo (Jargon): Galileo's Secret Communication".
Apart from gergo, the paper also discusses the famous anagrams Galileo composed to claim his astronomical discovery without disclosing the content. Interestingly, Johannes Kepler came up with his solutions, which were wrong, but are interesting because they are as if Keplar coincidentally predicted the moons of Mars and the Great Red Spot of Jupiter. These are covered by a new article, "Anagram and Gergo (Jargon): Galileo's Secret Communication".
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