SUPPLEMENT I.

FORMS IN LETTER-WRITING.

[See 161.]

1. HEADING IN GENERAL.

229. THE term heading is convenient; it denotes the matter put at the head, or top of the first page.

In a formal letter the heading consists of three parts:

1. The heading proper, i. e., the residence of the writer, or the place to which he wishes the answer to be sent.

2. The date, or time of writing.

3. The designation of the recipient of the letter.

The following is a specimen of the general heading of a letter to a business firm:

Ithaca, New York,

March 3, 1895.

Eldredge & Bro.,

Philadelphia, Penna.,

Gentlemen,*

The following is to an individual, not to a firm :

New Haven, Conn.,

Prest. J. G. Schurman, D. Sc., LL.D.,

Cornell University,

Dear Sir,

Sept. 6, 1895.

If the writer lives in a large city, he should state his place of residence, or his office, exactly. Thus:

* Some writers punctuate here with a :

99 Broadway, Room 72,

New York, Aug. 5, 1895.

In like manner the post-office of a small town or village should be stated exactly.

Thus :

Bursonville, Bucks Co., Penna.,
March 26, 1895.

The object of the heading proper is to instruct the recipient of the letter how to direct his answer. Consequently, when the writer and the recipient are in regular correspondence, the heading proper is frequently, perhaps usually, omitted. But business firms and many private individuals use paper on which the residence, or office address, is printed.

The exact date, i. e., day, month, year, is always desirable, even in the most familiar correspondence; in business correspondence it is indispensable. The use of figures instead of month-names, e. g., 6/2/1894 June 2, 1894, is not desirable, even in a letter to a business firm. No one likes to be forced to reconstruct from memory the fact that the sixth month is June.

=

The designation of the recipient of the letter varies according to the nature of the correspondence. It ranges from extreme formality to extreme familiarity. The first two specimens given above are formal. To them may be added the following:

William D. Gray, Esq.,

Dear Sir,

Mr. William D. Gray,

Dear Sir,

For the use of Esq. and Mr., see ? 231.

Mrs. William Thompson,

Dear Madam,

Mrs. Helen Thompson,

Dear Madam,

For the distinction between Mrs. William and Mrs. Helen, see 231.

Less formal are the following:

My dear Mr. Gray,
My dear Mrs. Thompson,
My dear Miss White,

My dear Sir, My dear Madam, are perhaps less used at present than Dear Sir, Dear Madam. But in the last three forms given above the omission of My would suggest a shade more of intimacy, if the correspondents are of opposite sexes. Thus, a letter from a gentleman, beginning, Dear Miss White, or one from a lady, beginning, Dear Mr. Gray, suggests that the writer and the recipient are on familiar terms of acquaintance.

Between relatives, and between friends who call each other by the first name, the My is retained or dropped at the pleasure of the writer. There is no difference between My dear Father, My dear Jack, My dear Fanny, and Dear Father, Dear Jack, Dear Fanny.

In very intimate correspondence pet names and nicknames are used. There can be no objection to the use of them in moderation; but attention is called again to the caution given in ? 161.

2. SIGNATURE.

230. This includes both the signature proper, i. e. the name of the writer, and the formal clause or clauses inserted between the body of the letter and the writer's name. Thus:

I have the honor to remain,

Your obedient servant,

William D. Gray.

Yours very respectfully,

John Thompson.

Your obedient
Yours very

The form, Your humble servant, is out of date. servant seems to be the limit of modern deference. truly is the form most in use. Yours sincerely is not a mark of intimacy, but it suggests at least a moderate degree of acquaintance and mutual personal esteem.

Between relatives and between very intimate friends almost every form of ending is permissible, as:

Yours affectionately,

Jack.

Your loving mother.
Yours as ever,

K.

In a letter to a stranger, especially if the letter is the opening one of the correspondence, the name of the writer should be written as legibly as possible. And if the writer is a lady, she should sign herself Mrs. or Miss, as the case may be.

It is impossible to lay too much stress upon the legibility of the signature. Most of us are given to twisting the letters of our names out of their normal shapes and sizes. As long as we are writing to persons who are accustomed to the signature, we do no harm. But the writer who submits a Chinese puzzle of this kind to a stranger does not deserve an answer.

3. ENVELOPE-ADDRESS.

231. However intimate the relations between the writer and the recipient, the address on the envelope should always be formal and precise. (See 161.)

Firm and corporation names should be in official form. Thus:

Stamp.

G. P. Putnam's Sons

27 West 23d Street

New York City*

*New York City (in one line) is gradually taking the place of New York, New

York (or N. Y.), in two lines.

Observe the slight difference of punctuation in the above. In the first specimen there is no comma or period at the line-ends. This is also the latest manner of printing the title-page of a book, the present book for instance. The difference is one of taste. All that can be demanded of a writer is that he be consistent; he must punctuate all the line-ends, or none. But in either case abbreviations (see 129), take a period, as in Co. above. Harper & Brothers is more elegant, certainly, than Harper & Bros., but it is not obligatory. Co. is an abbreviation for Company and for County; but the two uses are not likely to cause confusion.

On the other hand, the American fashion of abbreviating statenames is neither elegant nor prudent. In careless writing N. Y. is easily confounded with N. C. and with N. J. (There is a city of Trenton in N. Y. and N. J., and between the two cities many letters annually go astray.) Mass. and Miss., Ia. and Ind., are easily confounded; so also La., Va., Pa.* Ordinary handwriting, we

* During the excitement of "John Brown's Raid," 1859, Governor Wise of Virginia wrote an important letter to Governor Curtin of Pennsylvania. The letter was addressed to Harrisburg, Pa., but the Virginia postmaster sent it by mistake to Harris[on]burg, Va.; before the mistake was discovered, the rapid march of events had rendered the letter useless.