First, I suppose, come letters; then adventure.
— Robert Louis Stevenson
| How shall we word them? | |
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In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in response to increased literacy and a sense that letter writing was declining (a quick Google timeline search of "lost art of letter writing" shows the earliest use of the phrase in 1898; we've seen even earlier in books and articles), there was a flood of books on how to write letters. One such example is Practical Letter Writing by Henry T. Loomis, first published in 1897, which is the source of the instructions on folding letters (page 22) and the illustrations on pages 1 and 16. (The one on page 1 is entitled "Correct and Incorrect Positions" - the books often dealt with everything from posture to materials as well as rules for what to say, how to say it, and where on the page to write it.) The emphasis in most of the books we've seen are on business and social letters, such as the ones parodied by Beerbohm in "How Shall I Word It?" (page 8), although the social letters can include those to friends and even family (such as one in which a child away at school writes home for more money, explaining in ever-so-polite phrases why it's needed!) Books of letter examples (often templates, for the electronic age) are still being written today - and there are websites, too. And for a study of "epistolary theory" through the centuries, there's Letter-Writing Manuals and Instruction from Antiquity to the Present. Max (later Sir Max) Beerbohm wrote his parodies of such letters in 1910, the year he moved to Italy. He wrote a novel, but was best known for his short satirical pieces as well as for caricatures of well-known people of his time (and of himself, such as the one to the left), which were variously described as delightful, amusing, and cruel. |
| Where shall we deposit them? | |
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The "great scheme" of Sir Rowland Hill referred to in the book excerpt on page 14 - universal penny postage and prepayment of postage - has sometimes been seen as a cause of letter writing becoming a "lost art". For example, George Saintsbury's 1921 collection, A Letter Book, refers to the "cliché" that "the penny post has killed it." The reasoning behind this view was generally that when postage was more expensive and the recipient rather than the sender paid it, people put more effort into writing letters that were worth the cost. Be that as it may, letter mailing and delivery has changed significantly since the days when servants or hired messengers delivered letters, often to a tavern or other central place where people went to collect letters addressed to them (see the William Cowper quote on page 28 for an example of the problems this could cause). Pillar-boxes are free-standing structures, while wall-boxes, despite the name, could be set into an actual wall (such as the Victorian example at left) or attached to a post, base, or other structure designed specifically for them. Both concepts are still with us, of course, although the designs have changed over the years. British examples of the vintage that Baines refers to in the excerpt can be seen at the Bath Postal Museum, British Postal Museum and Archive, Colne Valley Postal Museum, Inkpen Post Box Museum, or Isle of Wight Postal Museum - or on street corners, walls, and fences throughout the United Kingdom, as many are still in use. |
| How long shall we make them? | |
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Byron, of course, is famous for his poetry, but as the letter and excerpts in The World of Letters (page 20) show, he had a way with words in prose as well, if a somewhat idiosyncratic use of emphasis and capitalization. Collections of his letters are available on Gutenberg, Google Books, and in libraries and bookstores. Although commonly known now as "George Gordon, Lord Byron" (as in the caption to the portrait on page 21), he had various names throughout his life, ranging from George Byron Gordon (at school) to Noel Byron (a legality needed in order to inherit his mother-in-law's estate). Augusta was his half-sister; much of Byron's relationship with her was conducted at a distance through letters. However, there were persistent rumours of incest, fueled by comments by Lady Caroline Lamb, with whom Byron had an adulterous affair. Today the possibility is taken seriously, and remarks made in various letters by Byron are part of the evidence. Frederick, referred to as "my favourite" in the first letter, may have been Byron's guardian, or may have been a younger Howard of the same name - the Howard and Byron families were related. Lady Gertrude was also a Howard. Harrow was the famous school Byron attended; Southwell was the location of his mother's house near Newstead Abbey, the ancestral estate where Byron lived for only brief times. |
| How shall we fold them? | |
| One might think that folding a letter to fit into an envelope was a fairly obvious process, but there are still plenty of instructions being given today, especially for business and formal social letters. In addition, there are a number of ways of folding the letter, written on one side, to become the envelope, thus saving paper; some of them involve no taping or sealing, just a single flap that the stamp secures in place. Here's one, with links to several others. | |
| Clicking on most of the books on this page will take you to Powell's, the world's largest independent bookstore. You can also use the search engine to the left. Any purchase you make by following one of these links will help support LEX – not just these items but any book or DVD in their inventory. | |
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