Cryptography is an extremely important field in modern information security, but this website diverges from today's high-tech methods to look at the historical use and development of cryptographic ciphers. Two interesting stories about Edgar Allen Poe and Julius Caesar describe the work in cryptography done by these two notable figures. Several famous ciphers are described, including the simple substitution cipher, the Rail Fence cipher, and the Alberti cipher. An excellent overview of the German Enigma Machine from World War II is also given. Two Java applets are given to allow users to try their hand at creating and deciphering cryptograms.