How to Write Letters (Formerly The Book of Letters) by Mary Owens Crowther (interesting novels to read txt) π
The mechanical construction of a letter, whether social, friendly, or business, falls into six or seven parts. This arrangement has become established by the best custom. The divisions are as follows:
1. Heading 2. Inside address (Always used in business letters but omitted in social and friendly letters) 3. Salutation 4. Body 5. Complimentary close 6. Signature 7. Superscription
1. THE HEADING
The heading of a letter contains the street address, city, state, and the date. The examples below will illustrate:
2018 Calumet Street or 1429 Eighth Avenue Chicago, Ill. New York, N.Y. May 12, 1921 March 8, 1922
[Illustration: In the business letterhead appear the name of the firm, its address, and the kind of business engaged in]
When the heading is typewritten or written by hand, it is placed at the top of the first letter sheet close to the right-hand margin. It should begin about in the center, that is, it should extend no farther to the left than the ce
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With kindest regards to you both, I am
Very sincerely yours,
Roger Allen.
Mrs. John Evans
500 Park Avenue
New York
A last-moment vacancy:
A last-moment vacancy may occur in a dinner party. To send an invitation to fill such a vacancy is a matter requiring tact, and the recipient should be made to feel that you are asking him to fill in as a special courtesy. Frankly explain the situation in a short note. It might be something like this:
500 Park Avenue,
February 16, 1922.
My dear Mr. Jarrett,
Will you help me out? I am giving a little dinner party to-morrow evening and one of my guests, Harry Talbot, has just told me that on account of a sudden death he cannot be present. It is an awkward situation. If you can possibly come, I shall be very grateful.
Cordially yours,
Katherine G. Evans.
Mr. Harold Jarrett
628 Washington Square South
New York
Accepting
628 Washington Square South,
February 16, 1922.
My dear Mrs. Evans,
It is indeed a fortunate circumstance for me that Harry Talbot will not be able to attend your dinner. Let me thank you for thinking of me and I shall be delighted to accept.
Yours very sincerely,
Harold Jarrett.
If the recipient of such an invitation cannot accept, he should, in his acknowledgment, give a good reason for declining. It is more considerate to do so.
For an informal luncheon
An informal luncheon invitation is a short note sent about five to seven days before the affair.
500 Park Avenue,
April 30,1922.
My dear Mrs. Emerson,
Will you come to luncheon on Friday, May the fifth, at half-past one o'clock? The Misses Irving will be here and they want so much to meet you.
Cordially yours,
Katherine G. Evans.
Accepting
911 Sutton Place,
May 2, 1922.
My dear Mrs. Evans,
I shall be very glad to take luncheon with you on Friday, May the fifth, at half-past one o'clock. It will be a great pleasure to meet the Misses Irving.
With best wishes, I am
Yours sincerely,
Grace Emerson.
Regretting
911 Sutton Place,
May 2, 1922.
My dear Mrs. Evans,
Thank you for your very kind invitation to luncheon on Friday, May the fifth, but I am compelled, with great regret, to decline it.
My mother and aunt are sailing for Europe on Friday and their ship is scheduled to sail at one. I have arranged to see them off. It was good of you to ask me.
Very sincerely yours,
Grace Emerson.
For an informal tea
My dear Miss Harcourt,
Will you come to tea with me on Tuesday afternoon, April the fourth, at four o'clock? I have asked a few of our friends.
Cordially yours,
Katherine Gerard Evans.
April first
Telephone invitations are not good form and may be used only for the most informal occasions.
Invitations to the theatre, concert, and garden party, are mostly informal affairs and are sent as brief letters.
A garden party is a sort of out-of-doors at home.
To a garden party which is not formal or elaborate
Locust Lawn,
June 29, 1922.
My dear Miss Burton,
Will you come to tea with me informally on the lawn on Thursday afternoon, July the fourth, at four o'clock? I know you always enjoy tennis and I have asked a few enthusiasts. Do try to come.
Cordially yours,
Ruth L. Anson.
Such an invitation is acknowledged in kindβby an informal note.
It may be of interest to read a letter or two from distinguished persons along these lines. Here, for example, is the delightfully informal way in which Thomas Bailey Aldrich invited his friend William H. Rideing to dinner on one occasion:[1]
April 6, 1882.
Dear Rideing:
Will you come and take an informal bite with me to-morrow (Friday) at 6 p. m. at my hamlet, No. 131 Charles Street? Mrs. Aldrich and the twins are away from home, and the thing is to be sans ceremonie. Costume prescribed: Sack coat, paper collar, and celluloid sleeve buttons. We shall be quite alone, unless Henry James should drop in, as he promises to do if he gets out of an earlier engagement.
Suppose you drop in at my office to-morrow afternoon about 5 o'clock and I act as pilot to Charles Street.
Yours very truly,
T. B. Aldrich.
[1] From "Many Celebrities and a Few OthersβA Bundle of Reminiscences," by William H. Rideing. Copyright, 1912, by Doubleday, Page & Co.
And one from James Russell Lowell to Henry W. Longfellow:[2]
Elmwood, May 3, 1876.
Dear Longfellow:
Will you dine with me on Saturday at six? I have a Baltimore friend coming, and depend on you.
I had such a pleasure yesterday that I should like to share it with you to whom I owed it. J. R. Osgood & Co. sent me a copy of your Household Edition to show me what it was, as they propose one of me. I had been reading over with dismay my own poems to weed out the misprints, and was awfully disheartened to find how bad they (the poems) were. Then I took your book to see what the type was, and before I knew it I had been reading two hours and more. I never wondered at your popularity, nor thought it wicked in you; but if I had wondered, I should no longer, for you sang me out of all my worries. To be sure they came back when I opened my own book againβbut that was no fault of yours.
If not Saturday, will you say Sunday? My friend is a Mrs. ββ, and a very nice person indeed.
Yours always,
J. R. L.
[2] From "Letters of James Russell Lowell," edited by C. E. Norton. Copyright, 1893, by Harper & Bros.
George Meredith ("Robin") accepting an informal dinner invitation from his friend, William Hardman ("Tuck"):[3]
Jan'y 28, 1863.
Dear "at any price" Tuck:
I come. Dinner you give me at half-past five, I presume. A note to Foakesden, if earlier. Let us have 5 ms. for a pipe, before we go. You know we are always better tempered when this is the case. I come in full dress. And do the honour to the Duke's motto. I saw my little man off on Monday, after expedition over Bank and Tower. Thence to Pym's, Poultry: oysters consumed by dozings. Thence to Purcell's: great devastation of pastry. Thence to Shoreditch, where Sons calmly said: "Never mind, Papa; it is no use minding it. I shall soon be back to you," and so administered comfort to his forlorn Dad.βMy salute to the Conquered One, and I am your loving, hard-druv, much be-bullied
Robin.
[3] From "The Letters of George Meredith." Copyright, 1912, by Charles Scribner's Sons. By permission of the publishers.
To a theatre
347 Madison Avenue,
December 8, 1919.
My dear Miss Evans,
Mr. Smith and I are planning a small party of friends to see "The Mikado" on Thursday evening, December the eighteenth, and we hope that you will be among our guests.
We have arranged to meet in the lobby of the Garrick Theatre at quarter after eight o'clock. I do hope you have no other engagement.
Very cordially yours,
Gertrude Ellison Smith.
Accepting
My dear Mrs. Smith,
I shall be delighted to come to your theatre party on Thursday evening, December the eighteenth. I shall be in the lobby of the Garrick Theatre at a quarter past eight o'clock.
It is so kind of you to ask me.
Sincerely yours,
Ruth Evans.
December 12,1919.
Regretting
My dear Mrs. Smith,
With great regret I must write that I shall be unable to join your theatre party on Thursday evening, December the eighteenth. My two cousins are visiting me and we had planned to go to the Hippodrome.
I much appreciate your thinking of me.
Very sincerely yours,
Ruth Evans.
For an informal affair, if at all in doubt as to what kind of invitation to issue, it is safe to write a brief note in the first person.
Two or more sisters may receive one invitation addressed "The Misses Evans." But two bachelor brothers must receive separate invitations. A whole family should never be included in one invitation. It is decidedly not proper to address one envelope to "Mr. and Mrs. Elliott and family."
To an informal dance
Invitations to smaller and more informal dances may be short notes. Or a visiting card is sometimes sent with a notation written in ink below the hostess's name and toward the left, as shown below:
(A)
Mrs. John Evans
At Home
Dancing at half after nine 500 Park Avenue
January the eighteenth
R.S.V.P.
If the visiting card is used "R.S.V.P." is necessary, because usually invitations on visiting cards do not presuppose answers. The reply to the above may be either formal, in the third person, or may be an informal note.
(B)
500 Park Avenue,
January 4, 1920.
My dear Mrs. Elliott,
Will you and Mr. Elliott give us the pleasure of your company on Thursday, January the eighteenth, at ten o'clock? We are planning an informal dance and we should be so glad to have you with us.
Cordially yours,
Katherine G. Evans.
An acknowledgment should be sent within a week. Never acknowledge a visiting-card invitation by a visiting card. An informal note of acceptance or regret is proper.
Accepting
347 Madison Avenue,
January 10, 1920.
My dear Mrs. Evans,
Both Mr. Elliott and I shall be delighted to go to your dance on Thursday, January the eighteenth, at ten o'clock. Thank you so much for asking us.
Very sincerely yours,
Jane S. Elliott.
Regretting
347 Madison Avenue,
January 10, 1920.
My dear Mrs. Evans,
Thank you for your kind invitation for Thursday, January the eighteenth; I am so sorry that Mr. Elliott and I shall not be able to accept. Mr. Elliott has been suddenly called out of town and will not be back for two weeks.
With most cordial regards, I am
Very sincerely yours,
Jane S. Elliott.
A young girl sends invitations to men in the name of her mother or the person under whose guardianship she is. The invitation would say that her mother, or Mrs. Burton, or whoever it may be, wishes her to extend the invitation.
To a house-party
An invitation to a house-party, which may imply a visit of several days' duration (a week, ten days, or perhaps two weeks) must state exactly the dates of the beginning and end of the visit. The hostess's letter should mention the most convenient trains, indicating them on a timetable. The guest at a week-end party knows he is to arrive on Friday afternoon or Saturday morning and leave on the following Monday morning. It is thoughtful for the hostess to give an idea of the activities or sports planned. The letter might be somewhat in the following manner:
(A)
Glory View,
August
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