Spies, Espionage, And Secret Writing In 1770's - Historical Writing Series Part 5 

Mrs Crocombe sits down to read Jon's letter over a steaming cup of high-tannin tea, and, before her astonished eyes, a secret nutmeg recipe appears between the lines...

The secret ingredient in the sympathetic stain is... Nutmeg!

This dude REALLY needs to be invited to give a talk t the International Spy Museum!! Historical tradecraft would be a fascinating lecture!

This writing man is such a gentleman ,I never want to see him in current time clothes

I just rewatched all of the videos on letters, quills, ink, etc the other day. Nice to see Mr. Allison back for another video.

Brian is probably my favorite recurring guest on this channel, and also the best dressed by a mile. I'm kinda digging this atmospheric lighting choice.

Brian may be on to something about the sympathetic stain. I found a chemistry book from 1863 that has some interesting information about tannic acid as well as other acids that have the same precipitation reaction with iron sulfate. The book is available freely on google books and is called “A manual of elementary chemistry, theoretical and practical”. The information about vegetable acids starts on page 576. My chemistry knowledge is limited to high school and some college chemistry so it’s a stretch to say I fully understand it. But, I thought it might be worth checking out.

"Never believe anything that somebody tells you, look it up yourself. You all have minds, you all have reason - look it up, read it, find out. Don't take my word for it, I might be wrong. (...) Always do your research." Truly words to live by in history and life in general! I love your videos, it's such a realistic, hands-on approach to history that nonetheless always manages to fascinate me! Keep up the amazing work and have a lovely day!

"Do not take anyone's word for it" - Wisdom and brilliance! I love Brian's realism and practicality.

Brian Allison is one of my favorite guests. He's full of knowledge.

"TURN: Washington's Spies" is absolutely amazing. Season 3 is the best thing ever!

I'm in love with fountain pens, handwriting, all writing-related things. Mr. Allison's presentations make my day. Advising people to think for themselves....outstanding advice! 😘💗

I could sit and listen to Brian for hours. Absolutely brilliant, getting him on the show, and sharing his knowledge with us all.

I can only image what the child version of myself would say if I went back in time and told him I was enjoying a video about secret writing in 1700s.

Brian was a delight to watch and listen to. Very handsome and clearly passionate. I always love to hear people speak about something they are excited about. What a treat!

So delighted to see Mr. Allison back, sharing his knowledge with us once again! The previous videos on writing materials and methods were absolutely wonderful, and this one is just as engaging and informative. Thank you!

I kinda want Brian to be my tour guide for all of my future vacations. He's very knowledgeable & genial.

It’s amusing to realize that codes, ciphers, and invisible inks have been around for almost as long as writing has existed. There’s an ancient story about a king who sent a secret message by writing it on a servant’s shaved head, then keeping the guy hidden until his hair grew back. Then the servant traveled to the court of another ruler, where his head was shaved, the message was read, and then the writing was washed off his scalp. Obviously, it took quite a while to send a message that way. If it absolutely, positively had to be there overnight, they must have used a different method.

I knew they probably had seen the show turn Washington spies, it was scary how what he said was what happened to me. I started getting interested in this particular time period because of the show. Even though it may have Hollywood things and it is not 100% accurate it sparked the curiosity of how it really happened and so I went and researched things myself. This is how I found the Townsends website and later the channel on RU-vid. I truly feel like I have gone on a trip to a museum and I'm standing in front of them, at times I wanted to jump in and add things to the conversation because of how real this Interview is, it felt like I was there. Amazing!!!!

Espionage is always fascinating! I especially loved seeing the boiled egg messages in Turn (even if they aren’t historically accurate it seemed like such a cute way to give a message XD) Special codes and ciphers in beautiful calligraphy letters have an allure that is hard to find in more modern forms of covert communication - end to end encryption in whattsap just isn’t nearly as romantic 😄

Brian, you listed some very important clues to what the invisible ink was made out of. One, it was exotic. This means it was probably from the East Indies. Frequent enough trade to get, and close enough to not take a year after placing an order. Two, it was used as a medicine at the time. He refers to it as a medicine because that's what other people used it for. It actually being a medicine make the code very simple to refer to it in letters, and no crown official would ever suspect because it was a medicine. It could be seen as completely toxic now, but it was a medicine then. It would be interesting to check the cargo lists of ships coming in from the East Indies on dates when he states that his medicine came in.

Having Brian Allison as a guest makes for such a fascinating video. It's so wondering seeing someone who is so knowledgeable and clearly passionate about his work. And it doesn't hurt that he's an absoulte dish!

Nice touch using the shadowy lighting! Brian Allison is my favorite guest on your videos - he inspired me to try making quill pens! Hope you have him back again. :-)

I still remember getting introduced to the caeserian cypher in primary school and figured it out with a decipher quickly by remembering that some letters are gonna be used more often than others.

I had the opportunity to read through an archive of "The Ladies Floral Cabinet and Pictorial Home Companion" and it one of them they had a user submission of "rebellion poetry" from the Revolutionary war. Rebellious messages hidden in published poetry. I will have to see if I can find it. It is also rife with reader recipes!

Every time I watch a Townsends video, I wish I had a time machine.

If this subject interests you I highly recommended reading "The Codebreakers - The Story of Secret Writing" (1967) by David Kahn. How good is it? At the UK's GCHQ request the author removed some parts and in 1982 the NSA tried to stop its republishing.

If the chemical analysis showed just regular ingredients, perhaps the secret lies in the method of processing. Or there IS another possibility. Today we have the ability to microencapsulate fragrances that can be printed on paper, essentially creating a "scratch-n-sniff" patch that releases it's scent when the microencapsulation is broken open by scratching the paper. Perhaps the secret was a process, or catalyst, necessary to develop the writing, not the ingredients themselves. Or maybe it was that there was an inhibitor in the ink that prevented the reaction that made the ink visible. And the inhibitor needs to be counteracted or washed away before the ink becomes visible. This is certainly an intriguing conundrum. Be sure to make a video on it if you come up with an answer, I'd be fascinated to watch it.

Some demos of the invisible inks and such would make a great follow up video.

Nice touch to do a late afternoon interview. Love the changed up lighting. My gr-grandmother once referenced that her father who was in the civil war knew of a secret "sympathetic" writing. We thought it was a reference to him writing condolence letters to the families of deceased military officers :| . She also did mention that "everyone kept a little bottle of acid". It was a strange stray comment.

The shadowy room is very effective for planning spycraft🗝🍻🥚

A truly fascinating episode, thank you. I love your cooking eps. And I love your historical eps like this one. Keep doing them all. Thank you.

While a work of fiction for young readers, the book 'The Scarlet Stockings Spy' by Trinka Hakes Noble features a secret code used by a brother and sister to monitor the comings and goings of ships inPhiladelphia PA while the city is under British Occupation during the Revolutionary War. It is a well told story with excellent illustrations.

Brian Allison is a terrific guest. His knowledge and presentation are great. This is a thoroughly delightful video.

Two handsome gentlemen discussing interesting things. 👍

I don't understand why this doesn't have more views. Fascinating subject, excellent guest/expert, typical high quality Townsends content. I hope people will take a look. Oh wait, just realized there's no nutmeg mentioned.

"TURN-Washington's Spies" is my all time favorite series

So good - love it. Great job, Jon and all. "Turn" rocks, too.

I love how this guy can make you interested in just about anything. I watched his video on writing quills and how they’re made and never in my life, would I have thought that was interesting. Not to take away from Townsends, but I love when you have guests on the channel. It really adds so much and you can tell just how much he’s loving just listening to his guests too.

I had a crazy busy week last week and most of this week. I'm exhausted and relaxing with this video. It's a very interesting overview of a fascinating topic.

This guest is my favorite! He is fascinating!

Fascinating! Love the setting and the videography that showcases two men talking! In Oneida, New York in the 1980's, we had a code breaker living two doors down from us...and working in journalism.

Who disliked this video? Capt. Simcoe, is that you?

Something I notice whenever I see people in historical dress-up: Is it just me or do people look way more attractive and respectable and just overall "better" than in modern clothes? This is true for most stuff, be it medieval, or early modern times.. at least IMO

love it! just reading Jeff Shaara's "The Glorious Cause" right now! He writes about Ben Franklin recieving invisible inked letters from John Jay in March 1777 while negotiating in Paris. John's brother James created this version of the ink. (p.214)

That's it! Now I know why he seems familiar. Brian Allison reminds me of a spy from an older movie, like maybe one of James Bond's cohorts or nemesis! Even better, maybe one of the spies featured in the Wild Wild West.

So funny you posted this. I've been watching TURN on Netflix. It's great!

Thank you, The Pinkertons are a huge interest to me as well.

Turn has been sitting in my Netflix list for a while, might be time to bump it up...

two grown men in period clothing having a fascinating discussion about the 18th century, before it and long after it. Absolutely terrific video, gentlemen; very well done! Am glad I have subscribed. The clothing - have you noticed how the shirts and lace/cloth neckties really "set them off"? Another commenter offered how the clothing worn actually gives them a better appearance. I agree.

I think one of the biggest appeals of Townsend’s is that it reminds us of the joy we get when we do what we love.

Lovely to see Mr. Allison again. And Jon, of course! :-)

The little girl that said "I don't believe you!", that little girl is me! I am a big fan of Turn, but it also spurred me to seek the real story about the spies of the American Revolution, and as I suspected, the producers and writers of the show certainly took some dramatic license with the real story. Even so, I'm still a fan of the show, especially if it encourages people to learn more about history.

My Great Great Great Great Grandfather was Capt. Peter Tarter with Gen Washington at Yorktown. The surrender of the British was signed in his Farther in-laws house. I love your channel as it bring me closer to how his life must have been like. Thanks You.

I would love to see more on this topic and hear more from Brian! What a great video. And what a great response to that little girl. I think she'll remember that day long into her life and be stronger for it.

Excellent video! Didn’t expect it on a Wednesday and didn’t see a notification - just stumbled on it. Hope you’ll do more on this topic!

Loved the series!!! Thank you. God Bless and stay safe.

I’ve always have used any book or movie as a gateway. Since I was a child I have always looked up and found out more about any story. Love having a map also to any book or movie so I can imagine where the characters are and moved around

Oh, and great guest as well. Brian Allison is awesome.

Reminds me of National Treasure....one of my fave movies. I suppose that and The Patriot were my gateways into this time period.

i was waiting for Culper to come up. Bravo!

I especially enjoyed the show being a Roe myself and having familial ties the Culper spy ring.

Thank you Jas and Brian.

These interviews with Brian are great info!

I'm pretty sure that the earliest known writing obfuscation strategy was dunking text engravings into wax, to make uniform blocks. As far back as 4th Century BC includes substitution ciphers were eventually included in kamasutra.

I love how I can know a subject, watch one of these videos, and learn stuff I never knew!

Definitely want to learn how to make inks, but the clothes line is the most fascinating part to me

There are many materials you can use for invisible writing, in a pinch. One of them, in use up to the modern era, is unmentionable in a family-oriented channel, but the head of Britain's MI6 during WWII was supposed to have remarked, "Every man his own stylo." I will not mention the name of man who made that comment either, since it will look like an inappropriate joke. Just Google for that quote to learn all.

I wonder if the "dose of medicine" would be something one could purchase from an Apothecary as a medicine.

I would absolutely love more videos about the history of spying. Particularly women’s roles in spying and espionage because they were often overlooked or not searched for proprietary reasons. Also, I loved that story about teaching the children to question. In particular, and I know it’s only because she was the one to speak up, thank you for saying it to a little girl. I’m sure she will remember that for a long time to come and will help her stand her ground and question the whys of the world in many situations, which is absolutely invaluable.

I so so love your channel and this guest is fascinating. Keep up the great work!

This is such a splendid series Jon, I can't seem to get enough of it. As an avid lover of history and it's multifaceted components, I so admire listening to Brian's commentary of it. Spies, codes, and cypher's is such a fascinating subject, it always brings shivers of delight to hear tales of the Revolutionary War concerning it. Thanks so much for doing another episode in this wonderful series with Brian. He brings such a body of knowledge to this topic. You both looked so like a couple of gentlemen from the period, I could imagine one of the code courier's coming through the door as you spoke. Thank you once again. Have a great day!

Thomas Jefferson made the Cipher Wheel so he could send coded messages to France

Another great video! I absolutely loved the advice given in this and will be sure to use it!

Once again a facinating subject. And i totally agree about tv etc. If one child watches a historical film and then reads a book about that period ...its done its job.

Thanks to Brian Allison for giving us all this great info while obviously not feeling very well.

My mom and my son write letters to each other with hidden messages. Where they have a matching piece of cardboard with holes cut out in various places so when you place it on top of the letter it reveals the hidden message.

Thanks to Townsends for this great interview. Brian Allison is very interesting.

George Washington sez, "Learn to Code!"

Watching National Treasure as a child was my gateway to studying history

I had never actually heard of "Turn" until this video, but I will definitely be watching it now! Brian's descriptions of it make it sound so amazing, AMC should be paying him advertising fees!

The little girl was right. Victorian women did wear makeup but they had to be very sneaky about it, and unless they were ladies of the night the natural look was the look to have.

Townsends has such cool videos & I really enjoy these videos with Brian Allison too!

Great job guys! Very interesting and well done! Thank you again for another very informative video

Great interview! Thanks.

I work in computer crypto now, but I love the history of the past. Washington's ink does sound interesting. If the ink was described as a stain, I would want a lightly exo thermic reaction when paired with its regent. If the order was 1. writing the message with agent 2 innocent ink message, perhaps the ink for step 2 also needed to fade under heat. At that point once treated, you could hold the letter to a back lighting and be able to see ink that was in the white areas, and the faded parts that were inked over. Sort of a stained glass effect. It's like Roman Concrete though, you'll need an example and a mass spectrometer to even hazard a guess.

Usually Hollywood gets the tiny details right (and it delights in researching tiny details)...but then it applies a 21st century worldview and makes a caricature of older beliefs. That's what bothers me. By the way, I know from experience that people can become fascinated with history without movies and TV.

This is so cool. Pre James Bond too.

I swear half of the history I know is through this channel and from looking up things I see in tv shows and movies 😂

I have greatly enjoyed all the episodes with Brian Allison. Special callout to whoever did the lighting.

That's one of the reasons I still love Mel Gibson's "the Patriot." It got some things a little mixed up for sake of the narrative, but it got an awful lot right. Some of the film's plot nuances were so little known that still to this day I see people vehemently disagreeing with it, like the church burning. I see comments all the time "Oh, the Brits never burnt churches!" but there exist quite a number of accounts where the Brits did in fact burn churches. Considering nothing exists today except ash inside their ruins, we can't say for sure if there were people inside. However, given that the crown showed up and just started bombarding and burning makes it seem likely they didn't care if people were trapped inside or not before they began to burn entire towns, church and all. But those questions get you to go out and research. The John Adams series is another of my favorites. It gets some things wrong here and there, but overall a great series that got an awful lot right too. But it gets you researching which is half the fun. For my 2020 calendar project I had to do a lot of research on the women of the Revolution. One day I'd love to make a film showcasing the likes of Deborah Sampson, Mammy Kate, Nancy Hart, Catherine Moore Barry, or Sarah Fulton. Considering they likely didn't cross paths in reality, I'd still like to put a story together where as many of them are in there, because few people remember who they were, and the opportunity to showcase them in a film, might be a once in a life time chance to shed some light on them.

This was a fun episode. Thank you.

Love it when Brian comes to visit. Always get me going off looking into things further

I figured he would be our expert, considering his trade.

Hello, thank you for a very interesting video. I have something that is very interesting. My mom was doing our ancestor and according to the records that she found the man holding the reins of General George Washington is my grand father 12 generations back. We thought that was pretty cool. However I love this part of history because people do not realize how advanced we were back then. Thank you for sharing, God bless, stay safe and have a wonderful day.

What a treat it is listening to two intelligent people discussing a subject.

"A secret can be kept between two people, so long as one of them is dead." ~ Benjamin Franklin Wonderful segment Brian & Townsend !

Such a fascinating discussion! Videos with you two are some of my favorites :)

I agree about the movies. So many things I’ve learned cause I researched them after a movie, and I retain that information better than if I just read it in a book, because I have a visual- even if it is imperfect, I know why it is imperfect too.

A favorite of mine was hiding documents under a rifle buttstock. Messages like this have been found fairly recently in antiques. The metal plate was removed from the end, the folded paper placed between the metal and wood then screwed back in place. One won't notice anything if they don't know to look.