Episode 2 | Renaissance Cipher Discs: Giambattista della Porta’s Paper Encrypting Machine (1591)
Channel: Carnegie Mellon University Libraries
Date: 2021-02-15

In this second episode of “Coffee with the Curator—a semi-monthly series featuring distinctive objects from Carnegie Mellon University’s collection of rare books and historical technologies—Curator of Special Collections Sam Lemley describes an early cryptographic device found in Giambattista della Porta’s book on secret communication, “De Furtivis Literarum” (London, 1591). Acquired last year, CMU’s copy of Porta’s book adds to a growing collection of early cryptographic devices and books on cryptology in CMU’s Special Collections.

Explore the exhibit, “Cipher Discs: Renaissance Encryption Machines:” https://exhibits.library.cmu.edu/2306387/

Make your own paper cipher disc with the interactive cipher wheel kit: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GE-F9rVQY4Mq7U7nwCVMee9XVTw1QQYE/view