, 1885-08-08
CORRESPONDING As IT WAS
Lstter-writine In the Days Of oum rsns
and Waters
-n..lnn Midi IL

~ Naftt
Boston Herald
The ease Of modern correspondence, in
comparison tn that OF nifty years age.
is something which many Of the present
generation iail TO appreciate. The writ
ing Of II letter. in the outset. was much
more Of an undertaking In those days.
quill pens were generally in use. the steel
substitute being on the verge of that gen
cral adoption into which il has since
come The quill pen had 10 be first pre-.
pared and often thereafter mended This
was no small task 1t requires an expert
10 make q good pen from the quill A
sharp knife was necessary. and II must
always be- kept ia good order. IA def land
was needed TO split the quill properly. and
10 give II the best point with the knife as
n l nisling operation was In itself an ART.
The quiis used to come IN punches
Sometimes a lot OF them would be pointed
10y u ski ful mombcr Of a family at once
AT others. the writer had to de end upon
himself. an 10 do with "a good or n poor
one according 10 his ca acity. Tho
teacher who taught writing In school
taught the scholar also how 10 mend his
peu. The small knives usel for this pur.
pose obtained the name of penknives from
this employment. n name which is prob
ably without significance or anything but
Au III BlANhfl AIlm ~ must VI lnO1t ~
now hear IL used.
Note paper was little used then. Poo
pie, when they wrote. were called upon
10 pay 20 much for their postage that they
generally utilized a larger sheet On the
sheet itseli was placed the direction Of the
letter. Envelopes were unknown. The
expense attending the sending Of letters
made people careful about any suprrfu.
Gus paper In them. II was the habit of
many to cover the sheet with correspond
ence IN every part but that which was eS-
posed to the public gaze in going
through the postotlice. Some skill
was shown here. too. There was expert
folders Of letters, and there were those
who did the work bunglingly. There
was not much thin paper. II must be
made stiff and strong to meet the wear of
handling A thin paper was devised for
foreign letters, 10 save "A art of the much
greater expense of foreign postage. II vas
made very exible. and was composed Of
the best material that could DO obtained.
This Is still considerably in use for for.
eign letters II resists hard usage about
as well ms did the sitter paper employed
At home. but for some reason It never
came into general employment in do
nestle correspondence.
The letter WINS generally scaled with n
wafer. Waters were sold in boxes for
this purpose, and they were an l%ndispens-
able part Of a stationary equipment
Sealing wax, too. was much in use. The
fashion which now prevails Of using 1t in
polite correspondence is a revival OF u
practice which existed among the more
parti ular people OF this earlier epoch In
the seal ring was the seal with which TO
stamp the initial Of the owner. and many
gentlemen used seals carried for watch
guards for the same purpose. This fine
old custom of carrying watches in fob
pockets in the trousers. and of attaching
10 them ornamental seals. Is ono that has
hardly been improved upon in appear
ancc. If 1t has been in convenience, by thu
more modern methods.