Question 1 of 12Correct: 0
Why could opening a sealed letter not be hidden?
What second role did a seal on a letter have?
Who paid for a letter before the reform?
Why didn't lowering the price bankrupt the post office?
Why are boring diary entries especially useful to historians?
What can show why a diarist stays silent about an important subject?
Why did the British field service postcard use ready-made phrases?
Why did letters from the front often sound cheerier than diaries?
What's most valuable for reconstructing history in a family archive?
Which step in sorting an archive can't be put off?
What did crossed writing look like?
Why did people write this way?
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Why Letters Were Sealed with Wax0/2Where the Postage Stamp Came Fromin the app0/2How Diaries Reveal an Era0/2What Soldiers Wrote Home0/2What Old Personal Archives Revealin the app0/2What is cross-writingin the app0/2
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Answers and explanations12 questions
- Why could opening a sealed letter not be hidden? The intact impression could not be restoredA seal did not stop anyone from opening the letter, but a damaged impression revealed that it had been opened.From “Why Letters Were Sealed with Wax”
- What second role did a seal on a letter have? It confirmed who the sender wasThe personal mark in wax identified the sender, especially when handwriting was difficult to compare.From “Why Letters Were Sealed with Wax”
- Who paid for a letter before the reform? The recipient upon deliveryYou could refuse, and people did, while the post office carried such letters at a loss.From “Where the Postage Stamp Came From”
- Why didn't lowering the price bankrupt the post office? The volume of letters grew so much that revenues did not fallThe main costs came from calculating charges and arguing, not from transportation.From “Where the Postage Stamp Came From”
- Why are boring diary entries especially useful to historians? They show everyday lifePrices, weather, and routines help reconstruct the era's ordinary life, which is missing from official documents.From “How Diaries Reveal an Era”
- What can show why a diarist stays silent about an important subject? Comparing several diaries from that timeComparing diaries helps distinguish fear or propriety from a subject that seemed ordinary to the author.From “How Diaries Reveal an Era”
- Why did the British field service postcard use ready-made phrases? So it could pass censorship fasterThere was nothing on the form to inspect, so censors passed it quickly and families learned that the soldier was alive.From “What Soldiers Wrote Home”
- Why did letters from the front often sound cheerier than diaries? Soldiers spared loved ones and censored themselvesA letter was meant for someone who would worry from far away, so fear and loss often remained between the lines.From “What Soldiers Wrote Home”
- What's most valuable for reconstructing history in a family archive? Documents and signed photographsA paper's value depends on whether it tells you who, where, and when.From “What Old Personal Archives Reveal”
- Which step in sorting an archive can't be put off? Ask older relatives to identify the photosThe people who can recognize the faces pass away before anyone gets to the box.From “What Old Personal Archives Reveal”
- What did crossed writing look like? The sheet was turned 90 degrees and written over its existing linesThe result was a grid of two layers of text laid over each other at right angles.From “What is cross-writing”
- Why did people write this way? To save money: postage was based on the number of sheetsThe mailing cost depended on the number of sheets, and the second layer avoided adding another one.From “What is cross-writing”