VMs: Re: More Fontana name trivia...

["Rafal T. Prinke" <rafalp@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Nick Pelling wrote:

> >I found that page and it is quite interesting (in our context), as
> >it refers to "letter-coded padlock", the invention of which
> >is usually ascribed to Hans Ehemann of Nurnberg in 1551 - but
> >their drawings also appear in a MS by Johannes Fontana from 1410-20.
> 
> In an exhibition in Bruges last summer, I saw an extraordinary chest with
> an amazing locking mechanism, commissioned by the Medici's as part of their
> banking apparatus - very cool, very 15th Century. :-)

I can now imagine a monk with an Enigma-like machine
on his desk, encoding the VMS :-)

Best regards,

Rafal