Compete to crack secrets lost to history—for fun, clout, and (no) profit
Problems › 167
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2026-09-08 | Public write-up recorded |
A postcard to Miss K. Williams-Jones at Ashburton House, Belmont Hill, Lee S.E., was canceled at Charlton at 9 p.m. on 10 October 1907. Its correspondence field is upside down relative to the mailing address. Twelve principal rows contain numbers, with ordinary writing between some runs and mixed marks above and below.
The picture reads Victoria Gardens Chatham. The message field includes the open address (31 Waterloo Rd and an underlined Charlie at the bottom. One principal value is overwritten; two edge spans cannot be given lossless transcriptions. Below, vertical bars mark breaks occupied by ordinary handwriting, whose words appear separately in brackets. What does the numerical letter say?
Handwritten source rendering; line breaks and uncertainty retained
U00 [MIXED_TOP_9] / [MIXED_LOWER_5+3_DOTS] [open: (31 Waterloo Rd] R01 19.10.14.6.10.20. [open: gradually] R02 3.17.2.24.10.13.8.13.10.8.7:7.16.24. R03 7.2.15.15.26.|20.7.2.11.11.1.6. [open: I] R04 2.8.2.10.13.24.10.19.7. [open: to be] R05 14.26.20.24.6.6.19.7.6.2.17.19. [open: I] R06 7.16.15.6.3.6.2.17.26.16.22. [open: are.] R07 15.22.[OBLITERATED].19.6.24.6.11.11..16.13.11.26. R08 11.10.19.19.11.6.|19.7.6.13. [open: a; while; &] R09 24.10.19.7.14.26.16.24.13. R10 11.18.20.6.|5.16.13.3.6.24. [open: with] R11 11.16.21.6.2.13.3.6.13.3.11.6.24. R12 1.2.10.20.20.6.20. U13 [MIXED_6_COARSE] [open: Charlie (underlined)]
Miss. K. Williams-Jones. Ashburton House, Belmont Hill Lee, S.E.
CHARLTON S.O. S.E. 9 PM 10 OC 07
Wide transcriptions scroll sideways within this box.
| # | Solution | By | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Solution 167-1 A reading, written up in full | @offgramercy | ACCEPTED |
Still open: One value is destroyed, and small writing along the edges remains difficult to read
Submit a source correction or a defensible reading of the remaining passage.