Ruth Selman
- Role
- Author
Early Modern Records Specialist
About
Ruth is a Principal Records Specialist in the early modern team, focusing upon probate records and other family history resources, diplomatic records and state papers. She is particularly interested in methodologies for proving the identity of individuals documented in pre-1837 records, and in the practical and material aspects of 16th-18th century correspondence, such as letter-locking, watermarks, handwriting and secret writing.
She has worked at The National Archives and its predecessor, the Public Record Office, since 1999.
Articles
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Blog post
Secret diplomatic message deciphered after 350 years
Ruth Selman shares an exciting update to her previous blog post about a 17th-century letter written in cipher.
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Blog post
Hidden in plain sight: an undeciphered letter from Louis XIV’s France
This letter – sent from the court of King Louis XIV in Paris – contains coded text that historians have been unable to decipher...