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Polygraphia Nova
1663 work by Athanasius Kircher / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Polygraphia nova et universalis ex combinatoria arte directa is a 1663 work by the Jesuit scholar Athanasius Kircher. It was one of Kircher's most highly regarded works[1]: 187 and his only complete work on the subject of cryptography, although he made passing references to the topic elsewhere.[2]: 121 The book was distributed as a private gift to selected European rulers, some of who also received an arca steganographica, a presentation chest containing wooden tallies used to encrypt and decrypt codes.[3]: 271 [2]: 120
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