Compete to crack secrets lost to history—for fun, clout, and (no) profit
Problems › 160
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2026-09-08 | Public write-up recorded |
A postcard to Miss Adah Thompson, care of Pratt Bros, Aldon House, High Road, Streatham, contains seven diagonal rows of geometric signs. The postal date shows JY 13 / 07; the locality and time are partly covered. The other side is a commercial portrait captioned MISS. HOPE., with no open sender or message.
The writing contains 58 principal cells in fifteen blocks. Detached round marks and small marks adjoining the shapes are distinguished in the source record below. Its shape names are visual mnemonics, not letter values. The transcript below records abstract source classes; it is not a facsimile of the handwriting. A doubtful cluster at the third cell of the final row is retained as a single occurrence with uncertain attached marks. What does the whole field say?
Abstract source-class transcript; original order, attached marks, and stops retained
The source legend explains the archived names without assigning values. In particular, the two U-like labels record opposite orientations, but their opening direction cannot be established independently from the saved prose description. The original image controls their exact outlines.
| Source notation | Meaning in this transcript |
|---|---|
| CORNER_BL | Corner-family label retained from the source ledger; BL is not a verified typeset orientation. |
| U_FRAME_DOWN / U_FRAME_UP | Two opposed U-like frame orientations. The archived names do not independently specify which side is open. |
| L_CORNER | L-like corner family. |
| F_CORNER | Branched corner family; its short inner branch is source-visible and must be retained. |
| C_FRAME | C-like open-frame family. |
| CURVE_LEFT | Left-curving shape family. |
| BOX | Box-shaped family. |
| V_DOWN / CARET_UP / ANGLE_GT | The source reader’s downward-V, upward-caret, and right-pointing-angle mnemonics. |
| {dot} | One close or internal round mark attached to the body. |
| {dot-cluster-4?} | One body with an unresolved cluster of four small marks, not four additional cells. |
| / | A detached block-stop dot, separate from an attached modifier. |
R01 CORNER_BL{dot} U_FRAME_DOWN U_FRAME_DOWN{dot} L_CORNER /
V_DOWN{dot} U_FRAME_DOWN /
R02 V_DOWN L_CORNER L_CORNER /
CARET_UP U_FRAME_DOWN ANGLE_GT /
R03 C_FRAME{dot} ANGLE_GT U_FRAME_UP C_FRAME /
V_DOWN U_FRAME_DOWN U_FRAME_DOWN CORNER_BL{dot} /
CURVE_LEFT BOX V_DOWN{dot} CORNER_BL{dot} /
R04 U_FRAME_DOWN ANGLE_GT V_DOWN{dot} /
L_CORNER{dot} U_FRAME_DOWN BOX{dot} /
V_DOWN{dot} CORNER_BL{dot} F_CORNER{dot} L_CORNER L_CORNER /
R05 U_FRAME_UP U_FRAME_DOWN ANGLE_GT /
CORNER_BL{dot} V_DOWN{dot} F_CORNER{dot} CARET_UP /
R06 C_FRAME{dot} U_FRAME_DOWN ANGLE_GT L_CORNER /
CARET_UP U_FRAME_DOWN C_FRAME L_CORNER C_FRAME{dot} V_DOWN /
R07 CORNER_BL{dot} U_FRAME_DOWN U_FRAME_DOWN{dot-cluster-4?}
CORNER_BL{dot} U_FRAME_DOWN U_FRAME_DOWN /Miss Adah Thompson c/o Pratt Bros Aldon House High Road Streatham S.W. London [STREATHAM?] [PM?] JY 13 07
THE RAPID PHOTO PRINTING CO., LTD., LONDON. E.C. MISS. HOPE. 4619 RAPID PHOTO. E.C. [Bugsano.?]
Wide transcriptions scroll sideways within this box.
| # | Solution | By | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Solution 160-1 A reading, written up in full | @offgramercy | ACCEPTED |
Still open: The final-row modifier cluster, faint printed label, and parts of the cancellation remain uncertain
Submit a clearer source or a correction tied to an identifiable mark.