Chapter IV: Introduction

In writing letters, or in preparing anything for the press, care should be taken to write a plain, readable hand. Many a valuable position has been lost because of poor penmanship, and many worthy productions have been thrown into the waste-basket, because they have been poorly written. Men of distinction can afford to write a poor hand, to the inconvenience of friends, and the trouble of printers, but, as a general rule, a poor writer labors under a great disadvantage.

The following facts should be remembered in writing letters:—

1. A letter should not be written on half a sheet of paper, unless it is a business letter.

2. Business letters should be as brief as clearness will permit.

3. It is never allowable to write across a written page.

4. All unnecessary flourishes should be avoided.

5. Black ink is preferable, and it is more durable than any other.

THE ADDRESS.

INTRODUCTORY REMARK.

The most important part of letter-writing is to properly direct a letter. During the past year, nearly 4,000,000 letters found their way to the Dead Letter Office, 67,000 of which were misdirected. When we consider the loss to business firms in not promptly receiving important letters, the anxiety to friends and relatives in the delay of expected letters, the expense to the government in sending them to the Dead Letter Office, and in handling and returning them to the writers, the proper direction of a letter becomes a matter of very serious importance.

_Definition._—The address consists of the title and name of the person to whom the letter is written, the city and the state in which he lives; as,—

Mr. William K. Bixby,
Houston,
Texas.

REMARKS.

1. Care should be taken to write the address in a clear, bold hand.

2. The usual titles are Mr., Mrs., Miss, and Master. The last title is used in addressing a boy.

3. Esq. is sometimes placed after the name, instead of placing Mr. before. It is used more especially with the names of lawyers, artists, and men of social position. When Esq. is used, never use Mr.

_Position._—The title and name should be written about the middle of the envelope, beginning on the left. Below the title and name, and farther to the right, should be written the city; below the city, the state.

REMARKS.

1. It is customary to abbreviate the name of the state. Great care, however, should be taken to properly abbreviate the word. Some abbreviations are so similar to each other that mistakes frequently arise:

2. The address should never be written diagonally.

_Punctuation._—A comma should be placed after the name of the person, and after the name of the city. A period should be placed at the end.

REMARKS.

1. Mr., Mrs., Esq., Rev., Dr., Prof., Pres., Capt., &c., are all abbreviations, and consequently the abbreviations should be indicated by a period. Miss is not an abbreviation, and thus requires no mark after it. Messrs. is also an abbreviation. It is used in addressing a firm, but it is frequently omitted.

2. If any part of a person’s name is abbreviated, a period should always be used to indicate the abbreviation; as, John S. C. Abbott. The S. and C. without a period really mean nothing.

3. Some place a comma between the parts of a person’s name. This, of course, is incorrect. See p. 16 d.

4. All the words in the address should be capitalized, except prepositions and articles.

_Honorary Titles._—It is customary to give the professional title or titles of the person to whom a letter is directed, and if he occupies some responsible position, this also should be indicated in the address; as,—

Rev. E. O. Haven, D.D., LL.D.,
Chancellor of Syracuse University,
Syracuse,
N. Y.

REMARKS.

1. Honorary titles should be given for two reasons:—

(_a_) As a mark of respect.

(_b_) The address will be more readily recognized by
postmasters, and the letter will be more likely to reach its
destination without delay.

2. When titles are written after a person’s name, a comma should be placed after each title, for the reason that a comma would be necessary, if the title was written out in full; as, A. M., D.D., LL.D.

3. Some writers make the mistake of placing a period after the first L in LL.D. This title stands for Doctor of Laws, the LL. indicating the plural of Law. As the two letters stand for one word, the period must necessarily be placed after the second L.

4. Hon. applies to judges, senators, representatives, heads of government departments, mayors, and others of similar rank; as, Hon. Thomas M. Cooley.

5. His Excellency applies to the President of the United States, an Ambassador of the United States, or the Governor of a State. This title should be written on a line by itself; as,—

His Excellency,
Gov. C. M. Croswell,
Adrian,
Mich.

6. In addressing a married lady, the professional title of her husband is sometimes used; as, Mrs. Dr. Haven.

7. Two professional titles meaning the same thing should never be used; as, Dr. A. D. Smith, M. D.

_Large Cities._—When the person to whom the letter is addressed, lives in a large city where letters are delivered at places of business or private residences, the title and name, number of house and street, the city, and state should be given; as,—

A. S. Barnes & Co.,
34 and 36 Madison St.,
Chicago.
Ill.

REMARKS.

1. The title and name should be written first, the number and street to the right and a little below, the city below the name of the street, and the state under the city.

2. The name of the state might be omitted in the address above given. It is not really necessary to give the state, when the city is so widely known that no mistake can arise, if the name of the state is omitted; as, New York, Philadelphia, Boston.

_Small Towns and Villages._—The name of the county in which a small town or village is located, should always be given in the address. If the person to whom the letter is written, lives in the country, the nearest post-office must be given, together with the county and state. The name of the place in which a person lives, and his post-office address, may be two very different things.

Mr. George Harvey,
Palmyra,
Lenawee Co.,
Mich.

REMARKS.

1. The title and name should be written first; the town, village, or post-office, second; the county, third; the state last.

2. Sometimes letters are detained at post-offices, by reason of the directions not being sufficiently complete.

_Addressed Envelopes._—It is the custom with business firms, when an answer to a letter is asked as a favor, to send, within the letter, a stamped envelope properly addressed. The address is usually printed, so that no mistake can be made. In all cases, even when an addressed envelope is not required, when a favor is asked from an acquaintance or a friend, and an answer is desired, a postage stamp should always be inclosed. It is certainly an unpardonable presumption to ask even a friend to write a letter for a particular purpose, and expect him to pay for its proper delivery.

_Letters with Special Request._—Sometimes directions are written or printed on envelopes as to the disposal of letters, if not called for within a certain time. This should always be done when addressing business letters. These directions are written or printed on the left of the envelope, near the top. See form on p. 81.

_The Stamp._—The stamp should be placed in the right-hand corner of the envelope, near the top. It seems hardly necessary to say that every letter should be properly stamped, and yet between three and four hundred thousand letters are annually sent to the Dead Letter Office, because the writers had forgotten to properly stamp them.

FORMS OF ADDRESS.

A letter of Introduction should be left unsealed.

When a letter is intrusted to an acquaintance or to a friend for delivery, it should not be sealed.

LETTER-FORMS.

I. Adrian, Mich., Nov. 6, 1877.

II. { Mr. William K. Bixby,
{ Houston, Texas.

III. Dear Sir,—

IV. Your favor * *

* * * * * * * *

V. { Very truly,
{ Joseph M. Blain.

In the letter-form above given, there are five parts to be considered:—

I. THE HEADING.
II. THE ADDRESS.
III. INTRODUCTORY WORDS.
IV. THE BODY OF THE LETTER.
V. THE CONCLUSION.